


Mr. Wrong

by bluefallenfandomwallflowers



Series: The Mr. Series [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adorable Castiel, Canon Compliant, Caring Castiel, Cas loves animals, Cas still likes Penguins, Case Fic, Castiel Takes Care of Dean Winchester, Charlie Ships It, Comfort, Comfortable Couple, Congress of D.W., Cute Castiel, Dean Likes Taylor Swift, Dean hates animals, Dean likes Harry Potter, Dean's all in, Developing Relationship, Domestic, Domestic Daydreams, Dorks in Love, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling Even More in Love, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Fluff, Funny Dean, Gross Couple Stuff, Happy Castiel/Dean Winchester, Heart-Felt, Heart-to-Heart, Humor, Love, M/M, Overprotective Dean, Plot!, Protective Castiel, Sam Ships It, Secret Relationship, Sexual Humor, Sneaking Around, So much fluff and adoration, Some angst, Tiny Gay Panic, mini dates, secretive, they're totally in love, weird metaphors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-19 06:32:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5957134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluefallenfandomwallflowers/pseuds/bluefallenfandomwallflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Well, Dean Winchester got the angel.<br/>Now all he needs is some gay panic, domestic daydreaming and some help explaining to his brother that he's in love with a celestial baby in a trench coat.<br/>Not necessarily in that order...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cue Interrupting Moose and the Congress of D.W.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Bumblebees!  
> A bunch of you enjoyed Mr. Right and asked me if I was planning on continuing writing, so yay!  
> Sequel!  
> Enjoy the craziness that runs through my head at all hours of the day and I'll probably update spontaneously, but no worries. I'll never let my in-between chapters last for more than a week unless something happens like, um, I die.  
> Okayy! Enjoy!

“The congress of Dean Winchester will now come into order!”

All the gooey parts of Dean’s brain gather together close, feelings bumping into feelings, emotions spiraling out of control and seriously, what the fuck is happening.

“We are here to discuss what I’d like to call… Destiel.” That’s the gigantic love emotion talking, literally a giant heart with the face of… Holy shit, is that Sam’s face!?

All of the feelings cheer, waving their rainbow banners around in unison, chanting different ship names and prattling on about sentiments that Dean is really not used to.

“I’d like to start off by saying that I fucking ship it,” one deep feeling says. “I ship it so fucking hard.”

“And Dean totally got some last night!” One of the emotions screams.

More cheering.

What the fuck.

“That was awesome.”

“Yeah, it felt so… weird. But good.”

“QUIET! We have to discuss how we’re all going to get through this!” Another emotion calls.

“What do you mean?” The rest question. And they don’t exactly have eyes, but if they did they would be so freaking large and round and circular.

“We all know Dean is going to have a big gay panic.”

All of the screaming and crying dies down abruptly.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“We have to prevent it!” The love emotion screams shrilly, throwing notional arms up into the liquid-y air. “Because Destiel is fucking life and Cas is meant for Dean and they need each other more than the ocean needs the shore or the peanut butter needs its jelly or-“

“Shut up. You’re stupid poetry is giving me a headache.”

“Sorry. So, all in favor of keeping all the emotions that could cause this giant panic under a giant rock!?”

Every single emotion and feeling screams, “I!”

Except the emotions that want to panic. They are sort of screaming in protest, but they’re already being dragged away into darkness and it’s sort of scary.

And that’s what Dean is feeling right now.

Like he’s going to panic.

Maybe at the disco, if that suddenly pops up in his dream. But he doubts it.

_______________________________

Now, don’t get him wrong.

Dean is so freaking happy that his heart just might burst out of his freaking chest. Like that one case awhile back where, well, you know. And that would clearly be bad. But, really.

Here he is, in a hotel bed with Castiel AKA bamf angel who can kill with one touch and he’s happy, because last night was… Perfect. Dean finally got the chance to explore every square inch of the angel’s body, kiss every centimeter of glorious sweaty skin and feel every millimeter of soft hair and every warm touch sent hot spikes of light through Dean’s whole body.

Yes, it was perfect.

So… He should freak out right? The Winchester way? Yeah, apparently that’s the best solution!

Dean stares down at Cas, who is rolled up under the hotel covers, breathing softly. His hand is placed, heavy and soft, on Dean’s stomach and he looks just… So good. So kind and loving and the way he handled Dean like he was a delicate piece of glass last night…

Why the hell is he acting this way!?

Castiel is everything he wants and now, Dean has him and suddenly, all those gay freak out feelings are back and more prominent than ever. Maybe he’s just scared of Cas being whisked away by some evil force and Dean will go right back to being lovesick and cold and alone. He won’t let that happen, even if it means pushing the feelings down.

Way… Way, way down… Like, really down. Into those sickening trenches that all those love poems talk about. Yeah, down there is good.

Cas shifts in his slumber, wrinkling up his nose and gravitating closer to Dean’s warmth. Dean smiles and all those domestic thoughts come drifting back…

They really should get back to the Bunker.

Quickly. So Dean can make Cas some pancakes and give him his side of the memory foam and-

“Dean?”

Cas is awake, blue eyes blinking slowly from drowsiness. But a soft smile is on his face and the hand on Dean’s tummy is sliding up to cup his chin. “Hey,” Dean says gently, slumping back down onto the pillow.

“I still can’t believe…” Cas trails off, sighing contently, already pushing against Dean’s body, bare feet tucking under his shins, seeking heated cloth and more skin-on-skin contact.

The sun is drifting lazily in through the blinds and the room is so damn cozy, Dean can almost imagine that they’re inside their own house, in their own bedroom, in their own bed… Where is that damn golden retriever when you need him?!

“What can’t you believe?” Dean asks, running a hand through Cas’ hair.

It’s so soft. He’s dreamed about this hair. These eyes and these lips.

God, it’s everything and is life supposed to feel this utopian?

“That I have you,” Cas whispers against his skin, like a prayer.

Oh, damn. There goes that heart again. Beating a tattoo in his chest, taking no prisoners as it attacks the Congress of D.W. with everything its got.

Great. Now they’re all cheering again.

Dean doesn’t even know what to say, because what can beat that? So he simply rolls to his side and goes in for the kiss when-

Cue interrupting moose.

“Dean?” Sam yells, pounding on the door. “Cas? Wake up! Why is the door locked?”

Dean groans and not in the sexy way. Cas gives him a shy smile, running his fingertips over Dean’s lips before rolling away. He can’t help but stare at Cas’ body, knowing that those dark bruises on his chest were from his own lips and the light scratches were from his deep set pleading, begging for more…

“Guys,” Sam whines through the door.

“Dude, we’re coming,” Dean yells, getting out of the sultry cocoon of sheets and hurrying over to his bag to grab some clothes.

Cas is pulling on one of Dean’s worn t-shirts, hopping into some jeans and oh, he looks so, so good…

“DEAN.”

Sam is persistent in his pounding and Dean’s afraid that he’ll knock the door off its hinges with his giant moose strength. “Just- dammit- wait a second!”

Dean pulls on mismatched clothes, accidentally tripping on his boots, and checks to make sure Cas is decent before finally opening the door. “What the hell took you so long?” Sam says, barging in with his laptop and shiny hair.

“Some people actually sleep,” Dean mumbles, sitting down on the unused bed uncomfortably.

He hopes Sam doesn’t notice that only one bed has been slept in and that both his and Cas’ clothes are strewn all over the room and, wait, does he even want Sam to know?

But, his little brother is oblivious as he plops down into a chair and begins typing away on his laptop so Dean doesn’t offer the information. “So, I was thinking that before we go home, we could check out this other case on the way,” Sam explains.

“Another one?” Dean groans.

He just wants to get home and let Cas have a drawer and a toothbrush and all that stuff that they’ll make up along the way.

“Yes, Dean. That’s what we do. We hunt.” Sam gives him a strange look. “What is up with you lately? You’ve been acting really weird.”

Dean sneaks a glance at Cas. The angel is already messing with the TV, searching for the Geography Channel and those damn penguins, probably. Right now, hunting is the worst thing in the world. Really. Like, he just wants to lie in bed all day with Cas. He’ll even watch hours of waddling penguins if that’s what Cas wants.

Yeah, he’s going crazy. But it feels… good. Healthy. Exactly where he should be. That’s what Cas does to Dean… Dean throws him a hurricane and Cas dwindles it down to a rain shower.

“I’m just tired, man,” Dean says, scratching his head. “I just think we should… Take a break, you know?”

Sam looks at him like he’s insane. “A break?”

Even Cas looks back from the gigantic emperor penguin making a brood pouch around a single egg on the TV. Cas tilts his head, also looking confused. 

“I just…” Dean grapples for an explanation. “Don’t you think we all deserve one?”

“I guess…” Sam looks down at his screen, frowning. “What would we even do?”

Think, Dean. Something that involves your brother and the angel you’re in love with…

A lightbulb appears overhead and Dean grins. “How would you fellas like to go to the beach?”

_________________________________

They decide to go back to the Bunker to pack up before they set off for some sort of beach Sam thinks will be nice to visit. Dean’s plan is to spend big bucks. Maybe even get them some hotel rooms with a view and a way to pay for food other than creepy diners along the way. This will be Cas’ first visit to the beach and it isn’t going to be spoiled by crappy Mexican food and shitty beaches.

Cas seems content with the Winchester’s decision. Even Sam is prepping for a long vacation and Dean… Well, those emotions must have slipped out from under that boulder his brain talked about a few days ago. His panic involves tremendous apprehension towards telling Sam.

His moose of a brother. Sam Winchester, the kid who started the freaking apocalypse and had demon blood running through his veins not too long ago. The guy who has had Dean’s back since the kid could shoot a gun and sweet talk a secretary.

And Dean’s totally afraid to tell him about…gulp. Destiel.

Shi-

What if Sam totally despises him? What if he throws Cas out? What if he does that thing with his eyebrows and then his voice gets all high-pitched and his hands go up and…

Yeah, no. He can’t tell Sam just yet.

Dean shakes his head, trying to get back into vacation-mode. He stuffs clothes into his bag. A few pairs of swim shorts. Even a white tank top he can probably get away with. A vintage pair of flip flops are hidden in the back of his closet and after trying them on, he mentally thanks the Men of Letters for their love of comfortable footwear and fluffy bathrobes. Just as he’s zipping his bag up, someone knocks on his door.

“Come on in.”

Cas opens the door, blue eyes wide and a little uncertain, like Dean might push him out the door and tell him to pretend that nothing ever happened. That breaks Dean’s heart. He isn’t going to be an asshole. Not after everything they’ve been through. He can’t and he won’t.

“Hello,” Cas says, slipping in and closing the door softly behind him. “I, uh, Sam told me to ask you if I could borrow some clothes.”

“Oh, yeah of course.”

Dean smiles at him, taking in the hickey peeking out from under the neckline of Cas’ borrowed tee. Oh yes, Cas looks great in his shirt. The sleeves are tight around his muscles, but he is a tiny bit smaller than Dean so it hangs loosely around his chest and wow, Dean really likes Cas in his clothes…

“Dean?”

Oh yeah. Reality.

“Sorry.” He tears his eyes away and digs around in his dresser, searching for clothes that would most definitely outline every single detail on Cas’ body.

Oo, that shirt would be perfect… So would those jeans. And that button up that’s too small for you. And- oh look, that’s a hand sliding around his waist!

Dean swallows slowly and looks down into seductive crystal waterfalls.

“Oh, hi!” He squeaks, heat prickling up under his skin.

That look Cas is giving him is, um, sensual and-

“Dean.” Cas gives him an innocent smile, putting a hand on his chest, but hey, Dean knows how Cas is in bed and he is definitely not that shy baby in a trench coat he once thought of him.

“Yes?”

“I would really suggest getting us our own room,” Cas says softly, tapping his fingers on Dean’s collar bone, staring at his lips, “because if not-” He leans closer. “I don’t think I’ll be able to keep a… low profile.”

Oh…

“O-okay,” Dean says, slightly shaking.

When- when did this side of Cas come out!? And during sexual advances, Dean has never been the kind to get nervous. So, so why is this all so new and erotic and exciting? Oh, and terrifying as hell!? Well, maybe not hell, because you know, it’s hell. But still.

His body is betraying him as he leans forward and Cas is so close and- NO why are you moving away, don’t move away! But Cas is stepping away and he has a playful smile on his beautiful face.

Bastard.

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas says, grabbing the clothes from Dean’s hands, leaning away from his lips and the spark between them. “I’ll meet you in the Impala, okay?”

He smiles and squeezes Dean’s left shoulder before walking out of his room and… Just… why.

The congress of D.W. groans, every single emotion, even the raging anger that hasn’t come out since Robbie, all experiencing the horrid sexual tension spreading through Dean’s muscles, every single tendon and hamstring and bone and cell. They’re all wishing to be coquettish and flirty and God, Dean misses Cas even more, knowing that he can actually touch him now.

This is officially hell.

Dean’s already been there a few times.

And he doesn’t want to go back now.


	2. Cats and heart-to-hearts and some more cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’re going on a road trip! Fun, right? Using filthy restrooms at creepy gas stations, getting car sick from sitting down for days at a time, sleeping in uncomfortable beds where millions of other people have done some kinky stuff and, oh look, a mystery stain! Such fun!  
> Except, well, it’s not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup Bumblebees?  
> Suckle any honey lately?  
> That was the worst joke ever.  
> I'll make retribution with this next chapter!  
> It's fluffy and a bit, um, catty.

They’re going on a road trip! Fun, right? Using filthy restrooms at creepy gas stations, getting car sick from sitting down for days at a time, sleeping in uncomfortable beds where millions of other people have done some kinky stuff and, oh look, a mystery stain! Such fun! 

Except, well, it’s not.

Dean thought being stuck in a car with Cas would be fun. He expected to hold hands with Cas across the front seat and kiss at stoplights and profess his love through off-key singing and heated looks.

He didn’t think about how he couldn’t do all of those cute couple-y things with his brother in the passenger seat and Cas all the way in the back seat, too far away to even remotely look at, let alone touch. The most Dean could do was glance in the rearview mirror and shoot him a grin.

Sometimes Cas would tap or rub his left shoulder as inconspicuously as he could, but his attempts were usually aborted by Sam throwing his big head back to ask Cas if he was okay or if he wanted to stop at a gas station for a piss break. Dean love’s his brother, clearly more than the next guy, but it’s hard when he has to shift in his seat and itch his leg to keep his hands from fiddling around, wishing for another hand just as strong to join his. But it was a futile attempt- he can’t keep from thumping on the steering wheel to an abstract beat, from looking back quickly, from making strange noises at random times when his mind wanders off to a few nights before with Cas…

It’s one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

Maybe even harder than the apocalypse.

But, probably not.

Sam knows something is up. He must, because if not… Well then he must be utterly clueless. Cas hasn’t offered any inklings to their now more intimate relationship and Dean is grateful for that. But that also means that when they stop at motels, there isn’t anymore Sam in one room and Dean and Cas in another.

Cas is back to sleeping on pull-out couches or on the floor. And of course he doesn’t mind, because he’s Cas. But Dean wishes he would mind, just a tiny bit, so that he could get Cas back in his bed and secretly gather close behind him and place quiet kisses on the nape of his neck.

Dean is such a girl.

And he totally brought that damn lavender scented soap with him, because Cas noticed it that, uh, that night and said he liked it very much.

Guess he’ll have to wait until… Until Sam finds out to do any of those things.

Dean sighs, looking at the empty road ahead of him and slowly drifts out of his daydreams. He’s never done that before. Especially not about someone specific. Dean has never let himself have the pleasure of it, but with Cas, anything is possible.

“Wanna stop somewhere?” Sam asks, looking at Dean with a concerned face. “You look pretty worn out, man.”

“Yeah, honestly, I’m exhausted. You up for a pit-stop, Cas?” Dean says, looking back at him.

Cas nods, giving him this cute, little sleepy smile that causes a wave of emotion to wash over Dean. Sort of like that hurricane he was thinking about earlier.

“Sweet. I wouldn’t mind sleeping here for the night and finishing the trip tomorrow,” Dean says and on cue, Sam yawns, vibrating the whole car with his gigantic let out of air.

Sort of.

Not really.

But hey, Sam yawns really loud.

________________________________

They’re just outside of Colorado, about sixteen hours away from San Diego. Sam had suggested they visit a few beaches around there, maybe even see the giant Comic Con center that Sam nerds-out about since he’s geeky like that. Cas says he’s interested to explore the city and swim in the ocean for the first time. Dean can’t wait to see that.

But right now they’re parked in a small town, checking in to a tiny, but appealing motel that reminds Dean of Professor Umbridge’s office from Harry Potter. The lobby is decked out in pink, every square inch containing some shade of the usually charming color, making Dean feel sick to his stomach.

Oh, and there’s cats.

So many cats. Pictures of cats, quotes about cats, inanimate objects shaped like cats…

And cats.

Dean is already having a sneezing fit when he steps out of the Impala. “Must be allergy season,” he says, sniffling and wiping his nose with his sleeve before sneezing again.

Cas runs his hand over Dean’s back. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, yeah I’m… I’m- ACHOO!”

They have just stepped into the lobby of the motel and suddenly everything becomes clear. Well, the situation and cause of Dean’s fit is solved, but his sinuses are definitely not any clearer and suddenly, it’s so much worse.

Everywhere Dean looks, there’s a cat. An orange tabby lurking around a salmon colored corner. A multicolored kitten purring on a pink cushion. An incredibly fat one that is lounging on the loveseat pushed up against a magenta wall. It’s… so horrible.

“Aw!” Cas clasps his hands together and his mouth drops open, blue eyes bright and he’s blinking rapidly as he looks at all of the cats.

“What the f-” Dean sneezes before he can finish the sentence.

“Hello, dearies!” An old woman appears from behind the counter, carrying yet another cat, this one pure black with creepy yellow eyes and sharp claws.

“Hi,” Sam says, smiling his awkward little smile and nodding once. “Are these, um, all yours?”

The woman nods quickly, rubbing the black cat’s tummy with creaking fingers. “Yes, yes, honey, these precious little souls are all mine.”

Cas bends down and begins petting the orange tabby, smiling wildly and even though Dean really hates these creatures, he grins at how adorable Cas is being. And he looks so different with a full-blown grin on his face. Then he sneezes and he remembers his hatred.

“Who has this many cats?” He mumbles and Sam shoots him a bitch face.

“Will you be checking in?” The woman asks, setting the cat on the front desk and picking up a vividly pink pen. The cat bounds away, but not after giving Dean a look that seems like an omen. Great.

“Yes,” Sam says, walking up to check in.

“Dean,” Cas says, looking up from the tabby, who is perfectly content with Cas’ slender hands scratching behind his ears. “Come pet it!”

“Cas, you know I’m allergic to these damn things.” Dean sneezes and he’s beginning to feel like he has a cold, his nose itchy and tingling uncomfortably.

“Oh! Yes, I seem to have forgotten...” Cas stares down at the cat with sad eyes, stopping his ministrations on the cat’s head.

It bats at him with a white paw, urging him to continue, but Cas slowly stands and back away. It looks at him with big eyes and if Dean didn’t totally despise them, he might have bent down with Cas and pet away. “Aw…” Cas’ eyebrows knit together and it’s really cute and, oh God, this room is making him even more girly.

Dean watches Cas who watches the cat while the cat watches Dean, strange eyes like yellow globes. That’s not creepy at all. Cas touches his back gently, scooting closer to him and Dean relaxes. But not for long, because Sam is turning back to them and Cas is squeezing his hip one more time before pulling away.

“Take care, hon!” The woman calls as Sam walks towards them.

Dean sneezes again, and then one more time, before closing his eyes. “I seriously have to get out of here before I croak,” he says, eyes watering.

The old lady glares at him, but luckily he is out of the lobby and back into somewhat fresh air. “I got us two rooms that connect,” Sam says, tossing Dean a key and pulling his bag out of the Impala. “You and Cas will have to share again.”

That’s the best damn news Dean has heard all day. Cas smiles at him and grabs both of their bags. “Now we are even,” he says, referring to New York and Dean being a stubborn ass.

Dean simply nods and walks groggily behind them, trying not to bump into cat pictures lining the hallways. Cas and Sam talk quietly about something up ahead, but Dean can’t hear them. “Damn cats,” he says, sneezing again and again.

He really hopes that those damn rats aren’t allowed in the guest rooms, because if so, he’s not sure he can make it through the night. “Well, I’m gonna turn in for the night,” Sam says, unlocking a door and opening it soundlessly. “We’ll regroup tomorrow and head out.”

Dean nods and waits for Cas to unlock their room, rubbing at his nose and feeling it burn like an itch he can’t quite get to. This sucks so bad and Dean just wants a heating pad and Netflix and a certain angel to keep him company and make him soup. “Dean.”

He opens his eyes to see Cas tilting his head in concern, door unlocked and open. “I- sorry,” Dean says.

Cas smiles, like Dean is an adorable dork, and leads him inside with a warm hand on his arm. “Here, just lay down,” Cas says gently, gesturing to one of the beds.

Dean doesn’t complain, slipping off his shoes and layers of shirts and jeans, sliding under the fluffy pink comforter in boxers and a black t-shirt without hesitation. He closes his eyes, digging his head into the feathery pillow and listening to the sounds of Cas moving around the room. Dean waits a few minutes, his nose and head beginning to clear up a bit, and finally, the bed dips and Cas crawls under the covers with him.

“Hey,” Dean groans, voice thick and nose stuffy.

“Shh, shh,” Cas says, sliding close to him and snuggling against his side.

And it’s like all of Dean’s discomfort melts away as Cas’ cool skin presses against his, as slim hands handle him gently, rubbing his arms and trailing over his face. He opens his eyes and turns his head, looking at the divine angel leaning over him, staring down at him with such intensity it gives him goosebumps. There’s something so strong, such adoration in those kind eyes and it makes a gasp escape from Dean’s lips, makes his eyes flutter shut again as Cas traces his warm fingertips all over him. From his eyebrow to his eyelashes to his nose, his freckles, what his mom used to call angel kisses before singing him goodnight with his favorite Beatle’s song.

His lips are exulted by comforting hands and he sighs, nestling closer to Cas. “You don’t have to do this,” he whispers, pressing his palm to Cas’ chest, feeling the heartbeat through thick muscle and cloth.

“I want to,” Cas answers, scooping up Dean’s foot with his own, trying to link them together as close as possible.

“Why didn’t we do this sooner, Cas?”

Cas’ fingertips disappear so Dean opens his eyes. How can those eyes make him feel so wanted? How could they have acted as if there was nothing between them? Why didn’t they fall together sooner and why didn’t they meet in a café or at a bookstore or behind a bar? Why does their story always have to end with an unfortunate ending?

“I don’t know,” Cas answers honestly, brushing a stray hair from Dean’s forehead. “But I don’t regret anything.”

Dean sits up a bit, taking care to not knock Cas’ hand away, instead gripping it with shaky fingers. He takes a deep breath, having to look down, because those damn eyes are too bright and too full of something deep that Dean isn’t quite ready to face. Not until he gets a chance to say everything. “Cas, I know I’m not the perfect guy and I know I seem like I’m not big on feelings, but ever since I got that damn thing off my arm,” he gestures to his right arm, “I don’t want to pretend anymore.”

Cas doesn’t speak, just listening intently, lips parted slightly. How is Dean going to get through this clearly when Cas looks like that? So he looks down again and licks his lips. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted you, Cas. I’ve been such an ass and I’ve pushed what we have between us so far away that I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve you, Cas, but I want you so damn bad.” His voice cracks at the end and when did he become so small?

Dean doesn’t have to look up because Cas is already ducking his head down and sliding his other hand into Dean’s hair, caressing his head like he’s the most important thing in the world. “You deserve everything, Dean Winchester,” Cas says, voice faint, but full of sincerity. “You deserve the sun and the moon and the ocean. I’ve watched kingdoms rise and fall and I’ve seen people age and die. But I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you.”

Dean inhales shakily, tipping up his head and inhaling Cas’ clean soapy scent, already feeling that heart-wrenching quake soar through his insides, turning his whole life upside down with just a few sentences. Cas is so good with words and Dean could never express it the way he does.

But he’ll try. Through Sunday morning waffles and scalding coffee and the way tenderness is woven into every kiss and how hasty breaths are hot on sweating skin… Dean wants to be Cas’ everything and he’ll sure as hell try.

“You mean everything to me, Dean,” Cas continues, slowly pushing Dean back onto the bed, climbing over him and straddling his waist, sweatpants clinging to sharp hipbones and the sleeves of his tee rolling up to reveal strong muscles. “And I’ll never be able to repay what you’ve given me.”

“Cas…”

“Just listen.” The angel places his hands on either side of Dean’s head, gazing down at him with such intensity that Dean gulps, unable to move away from the heated look. “You’re mine, Dean. And no one else’s.”

Oh…

That makes something stir in his lower abdomen, causes a colorful swirl of passion and sweltering submission to dance about in his head. Cas is something else, something celestial and out of this world.

And Dean is his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter soon...


	3. California, flowery comforters and disheveled angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean has never been this giddy in his life.  
> It’s sort of strange, really. The rushing sensation when he wakes up to Cas by his side, the congratulations the Congress of D.W. gives him as he takes a shower, the afterglow and honeymoon sensation he feels even after all of the evidence of last night’s endeavors washes away with the lavender scented water pooling at his feet.  
> Whoa. Dean feels simply awesome. It’s so weird. But so damn nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bumblebees!  
> I literally _loved_ writing this chapter! About a year ago I went to California for the first time and I freaking loved my experience in San Diego. So, I'm basing a lot of this fic on my own adventures and mishaps while also exaggerating a few minor details and adding more gayness XD *cue audiences peals of laughter*  
>  Oh shucks, guys, I'm not _that_ hilarious am I!?  
>  (I am)  
> Just kidding! (I hope it's okay to use actual businesses in my work... But maybe i'm just a big ole copyrighter! Grr...) Anyway, I hope you love this chapter! I think it's a bit longer than the other ones and the next few chapters are even longer so yay, treats for all of the bumblebees!  
> Enjoy!

Then Cas is leaning down and Dean’s eyes flutter shut as he inhales sharply. Lips brush against his lightly and he reaches up to capture them, but they abruptly pull away. “Cas,” Dean groans, hand tugging on the front of Cas’ t-shirt.

“Yes?” There’s amusement laced into his tone and Dean growls.

“Come on, Cas. I haven’t touched you in days,” he whines, foot caressing Cas’ gently.

Cas is smirking when Dean opens his eyes. “But I like you like this,” he whispers, suddenly swooping down to press a heavy kiss on Dean’s neck.

Dean gasps and wrenches Cas down, trying to gather closer, not wanting to let anything pass them by, because they’ve wasted enough time already. A low moan bubbles up from the back of Dean’s throat as Cas continues his descent down Dean’s neck, sucking light bruises on his collar bone and sliding a leg in between Dean’s. Sweat is already beginning to form on his brow, his shirt suddenly feeling too sticky, too in the way. “Cas- I-”

“What, Dean?” Cas whispers, rising high above him, gazing down at him with strong adoration.

“I just want you,” Dean answers, licking his dry mouth and twisting his fists into the hem of Cas’ shirt, feeling almost impatient. Like he might spontaneously combust without Cas’ mouth on his.

And then, finally, Cas plunges forward and his lips capture Dean’s. It’s not slow this time, instead heady and full of pure want and need. Dean pulls a whimper from the angel’s throat, sliding a hand under Cas’ shirt and onto his bare back. Cas turns his head, the kiss deepening, and it’s so good. It’ll always be good and Dean doesn’t think he’ll be able to get enough. In between desperate kisses and deep moans, Dean gets out a, “I- need this- off,” and tugs on Cas’ tee.

Cas obliges, tearing it off like some sort of sexy stripper, sitting up in Dean’s lap. Dean sits up, only parting from Cas’ lips to let him pull of his own shirt. It’s sort of romantic, the way Cas grabs Dean’s head and tilts it back, sucking on his mouth like a man in dire need of oxygen. He manhandles Dean in a way that he has never been touched before. Like he’s something special, something that is fragile and badly broken and that should be glued back together with sweet nips on skin and dragging touches that make Dean gasp like a freaking virgin.

And it is so different. Cas is most definitely in control, but Dean doesn’t even mind. He sort of likes being in submission, loves how Cas’ pupils dilate and fill with pure lust and endearment when he looks down at Dean. When Cas movements are slow and thought out, leaving Dean begging for more. And then making him wait with a sly smirk that drives Dean absolutely insane.

God, he is such a bottom.

________________________________

Cas laughs softly against his cheek afterwards, not letting Dean out of his grasp, even when Dean insists that he needs to take a pee break. “What is it?” Dean asks, looking over at the crazy sex-haired angel and looping a stray lock around his pointer finger.

Cas sighs and Dean rolls over on top of him, propping himself up on an elbow while he runs his fingers through Cas’ sweaty hair. Dean gazes down at him fondly, watching Cas’ blue eyes flutter shut as he smiles, head digging into the pillow. “I never knew it could be like this,” Cas beamed, fingers trailing over Dean’s chest absentmindedly.

Dean collapses on top of him. “Oomph,” Cas breathes out, pretending to heave and Dean smacks him lightly on the cheek before moving off of him a bit.

“I always knew I’d be like this,” Dean says honestly.

Cas opens his eyes. “Really?”

“Hell yeah.” Dean rolls back over onto his side of the bed and places an arm behind his head, staring up at the light pink ceiling and linking hands with Cas. “When it comes to us, I’ve always imagined something so fucking great.”

Cas smiles, pulling up the covers and rolling over on his side. “Me too.”

They smile at each other sheepishly, like two giant dorks in love, and the warm glow of the room is the perfect atmosphere to drift off to, a strong arm wrapped around Dean’s middle and a gorgeous face snuggled into the crook of his shoulder. Cas has already fallen asleep, snoring softly, and Dean just stares at him with potent admiration until his eyes begin to droop and he also slips into unconsciousness.

________________

Dean has never been this giddy in his life.

It’s sort of strange, really. The rushing sensation when he wakes up to Cas by his side, the congratulations the Congress of D.W. gives him as he takes a shower, the afterglow and honeymoon sensation he feels even after all of the evidence of last night’s endeavors washes away with the lavender scented water pooling at his feet.

Whoa. Dean feels simply awesome. It’s so weird. But so damn nice.

He isn’t taking any chances with his allergies and those damn felines, so Dean and Cas wait in Baby while Sam chats up the cat lady while checking out of the motel. Dean really hopes that nobody can see them, especially Sam, because anyone watching would think that Dean was being tortured from his incoherent yelling and flailing.

Cas’ hands are on Dean’s face and Dean is leaning close with his eyes squeezed shut, grimacing.

“Damn it, Cas, that fucking _hurts_.”

“I know, Dean, but you asked me to do this so I am not stopping now.”

“No, wait- _ouch_!”

“Dean, honey, you have to calm down.”

“Ow, wait- did you just… Give me a nickname?”

Silence and gooey smiles and heart-shaped eyes follows.

“Yes.”

“That’s sort of adorable.”

“ _You’re_ ador-”

“FUCK.”

“Sorry.”

Dean whines as Cas presses close to him, bending high over him with deep concentration as he plucks a few gray hairs from Dean’s hair line. At Dean’s urgent request from earlier this morning in that damn makeup mirror in the bathroom which magnified Dean’s face and revealed the tiny dysfunctional gray hairs that peppered his hair line. 

“Ouch!”

“Dean, you’re the one who asked me to do this. Stop complaining,” Cas grumbles, grappling with the tiny little hairs that weren’t even noticeable until Dean pointed them out, begging Cas to pick them out before Sam noticed and gave him shit.

Dean sighs and braces himself, clinging to Cas’ hips and leaning back into the seat.

_Pluck._

“F-

“Shush. That was the last one.”

Dean opens an eye, staring up at a strong jawline and a fond smile and blue eyes. His heart twists in chest and yeah, he’s so giddy he might bust a gasket. He has everything in the world and it feels like nothing will put a damper on his high spirits. That is until he sees Sam walking out of the lobby and they both look at each other with wide eyes before scrambling to get into their seats, Cas in the back and Dean in the driver’s spot.

Much too far away.

They finally got around to talking about how their relationship would go that morning, at least. Cas had been reluctant about keeping their relationship a secret from Sam at first, insisting that Sam would be happy for them, but once Dean explained his fear and why it would be better to slowly ease Sam into it, Cas agreed. So now they get to do all that couple stuff that they both obviously want, but… Sam will, uh, not know.

Any of it.

Best option, right?

“That lady was really nice,” Sam says as he climbs in, still oblivious to everything around him, even the light blush on Dean’s cheeks.

“Yeah, for a crazy cat lady,” Dean grumbles.

“I enjoyed her animals,” Cas inputs.

“Of course you do, angel boy.”

“I am not the one who hates every living creature on this earth.”

“Hey! That was uncalled for!”

“ _You’re_ uncalled f-”

“GUYS,” Sam says loudly, rolling his eyes as he shuffles through a few pamphlets he picked out in the vibrant pink lobby.

Dean winks at Cas in the mirror and Cas also rolls his eyes, but more in a doting way and Dean grins as he pulls out of the parking lot and heads out on yet another road. Sam is giving him a strange look, looking back and forth between them, eyes sort of wide in confusion and his mouth up in a stupid smile.

But Dean ignores him, too damn happy to even worry.

______________________________________

California is so much better than New York in Dean’s opinion. It’s somehow quieter and more of a subtle city, with tall palm trees swaying precariously and tropical birds circle buildings on their multicolored wings, free and unworried about the future or maybe pollution. Strange, yet exotic, hippies walk down the streets with their stickered skate boards and loose shirts and drum circles can be heard from the open windows of the Impala and the sound of waves is growing louder as Dean drives on and suddenly, there it is.

The huge, seemingly never-ending, deep indigo ocean is in front of them, stretching out beyond the sparkling beach and tiny dots of people basking in the hot glow of the afternoon sun. Cas leans forward over the seat, smiling at the wide expanse of water, and he rests his hand on Dean’s shoulder, light yet solid. It’s very comforting and Dean relaxes even further. “Well, there it is boys,” Dean says as they roll towards it, pulling into the parking lot of a tall, white building that sits right on the edge of the beach.

“That’s so… Awesome,” Sam says in awe, hazel eyes wide and child-like.

“It’s beautiful,” Cas agrees softly.

Dean parks in front of a concrete barrier separating them from the sand ten feet below. To their left and right there are condos and beach houses, colorful and so vibrant it gives Dean a peculiar feeling in his chest. He feels this way when he and Sam laugh their heads off, when that first bite of pie reaches his lips, when he kisses Cas, when he’s…

_Happy._

“So, this place is called _Capri by the Sea_ ,” Sam says, looking back at the stark, white building. “It has some pretty excellent reviews and I got us a really awesome room by pulling a few strings…”

“Awesome,” Dean says, grinning. “This is already better than some stupid ass ghost or werewolf creature thing.”

They get out of the Impala and are immediately hit with a strong waft of salt and something thick and humid that makes Dean takes a deep breath, letting it seep into his bones and glide across his skin like he’s already in the water. Sam opens the trunk to grab his things and Cas sneaks a peck onto Dean’s cheek, smile dazzling and genuinely full of joy. “This makes me so happy,” Cas whispers, gripping his hand tightly.

Dean squeezes it quickly, smiling down at Cas, before pulling away gently. They each grab their bags, Dean of course grabbing almost all of Cas’, and then they’re heading towards the building. Inside it’s cool, the perfect contrast to the sticky, hot temperature outside. Sam confidently walks up to the front desk where a small man with tan skin and dark eyes is seated, typing rapidly on the computer in front of him. “Hello,” he says, looking up with a blinding smile, “Welcome to Capri by the Sea! Do ya’ll have a reservation?”

Sam handles it from there and Dean leans towards Cas, bumping him in the arm. “So you’ve really never gone swimming before?”

Cas shakes his head. “I’ve never had the chance.”

“Well, no worries,” Dean says, lowering his voice. “You have the chance now, baby.”

Cas beams at him, biting his lip and looking away with flushed cheeks. Dean chuckles and he glances up to see Sam staring at him, head cocked to the side and that same strange look from earlier back on his face. His heart practically stops and his worry comes flooding back in tenfold.

_He’s disgusted._

An evil part of his brain is talking now, the part that had become so strong during the Mark of Cain’s dark and recurring mantra and Dean hates it, despises it more than anything. So he beats it down.

Even if it might be right.

The man at the desk breaks Sam and Dean from their staring contest and Dean exhales shakily. Did Sam hear him? Or was he just wondering why Cas was fucking _blushing_ after Dean said something?

God, there goes those gay panic hormones again.

“Here are your room keys, sir!” The desk guy says, holding out a few shiny keys. “Enjoy your stay!”

“Thanks. We will.” Sam grabs them and nods before heading towards Dean and Cas. “So I got us a condo with three separate bedrooms so we’ll still be together but, uh, not too close.”

He smiles awkwardly and when he looks at Dean again, there’s an underlying tension that makes the cool temperature of the lobby seem to drop to below zero and Dean shivers. They head over to the elevator, Dean letting Cas press the elevator buttons since he seems so intrigued by them, and soon they’re on the fourth floor. The hallway is long and open-aired, sand lining the edge of the concrete floor and it makes a tiny crunching noise under Dean’s feet as he walks. Sam examines the room numbers before smiling and stopping at a small hallway which houses two doors.

“Here it is,” he says, striding forward to one of the doors marked 119 and fitting the key in the lock. It reminds Dean of that time they got stuck in that alternative universe and they both had to play out some shitty scenes about their lives and Sam provided the worst acting Dean had ever seen.

Of course, Dean wasn’t exactly the grandest actor in that universe, but still…

“Dean,” Cas says and Dean looks up to see him gesturing towards the open door.

The place is way nicer than any crappy motel room they’ve ever stayed at and Dean finally gets that nice, relaxing feeling back in his body. It’s freaking _huge_. They even have two bathrooms stocked with tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner and _hotdamn_ , lavender soap! Cas gives Dean a look as he picks up the bar of purple soap and it is so suggestive, Dean has to swallow and leave before he does something stupid, like press Cas against the wall and kiss him silly.

As Sam said, there are three bedrooms; one with a round bed that has purple covers, a spectacular view through large windows and a bathroom. It connects to the one with yellow walls and a flowery bedspread on a small mattress with a nice sized bathroom. The last has a king sized bed, a locked closet and the only sight being the city below them. All three of them have TV’s, as does the open-spaced living room that is lit by the sun shining through the humongous windows taking up the far wall, giving the best view of the glittering waters below.

“I want this room!” Cas calls from the flower room, voice sounding light and happy.

Dean smiles and before Sam can say anything, he’s scurrying over to the bedroom with its own view, for both the openness of the room and of course, the easy access to Cas’ room. The only downside is that Dean’s room has sliding doors with no locks so if Sam happens to come in during something, they’re screwed.

Besides being, well, screwed.

Haha.

“Not fair!” Sam yells and Dean laughs loudly as he plops down onto the fluffy bed, laying back with his arms behind his head.

“Hey, I deserve this,” Dean argues, closing his eyes. “I’m the oldest. It’s my birthright.”

He hears Sam huff and walk away, headed towards the white room. Sam’s door slams shut from across the condo and Dean sighs. The sun is nice and warm, shining down on him like a heater, and there’s that stupid feeling growing in his chest, spreading through his veins like smooth whiskey and giving him this nice content feeling that he wants to remember forever.

He’s starting to get a bit warm, though, so he forces himself to sit up, slide the doors shut and tug off his clothes. He pulls his bag over and sifts through the contents, coming up with a worn, thin gray t-shirt and cacki shorts. Even those damn flip flops from the bunker replace his holey socks and thick boots. Dean breathes in and out, allowing his body to relax.

_This isn’t a hunt,_ the Congress coaches, all of the feelings pulling on their boxing gloves and tough faces. _This is a vacation and you better fucking enjoy yourself, Winchester, or we’ll kick your ass._

Damn. He thought the Congress of D.W. had disappeared since he got the angel, but apparently not.

Dean hops into the shorts and the rest of his skimpy-feeling outfit and looks at himself in one of the many mirrors lining the sliding doors.

Weird.

But comfy!

The bathroom door opens suddenly and Cas slips in, wearing a short-sleeved blue button up and black shorts. Dean’s breath hitches at the sight of Cas’ strong, smooth, pale legs and yeah, he’s not used to Cas’ in normal clothes. But, damn, Cas sure can work those shades of blue. “Is this alright?” Cas asks, grimacing as he plucks at the hem of his shirt, as if he thinks he looks strange.

Dean chuckles, walking over to him and placing his hands on Cas’ hips to pull him close. “You look really, _really_ great, baby.”

Cas smiles shyly, looking down. “Hey,” Dean says, tipping Cas’ chin up, “We’re gonna have a great time. I promise.”

With a nod, Cas looks back up, eyes running over Dean’s face and then down his body. “You also look very nice,” he says.

A hint of Cas’ customary smirk begins to spread across his lips and Dean can’t help catching them with his own, slotting their mouths together expertly, as if they’ve been doing this for years.

It sort of does feel like years. Even with their dancing around each other and harsh words and betrayal. They’ve been through so much and Dean doesn’t have any trouble deciphering Cas’ moods or deadpanning and the same goes for Cas knowing him better than even Sam at times. It feels normal and it gives Dean courage.

Cas sighs into his mouth, palms sliding up Dean’s arms to his face. Their mouths fit like puzzle pieces, eliciting warm smiles and soft moans from both of their mouths. Dean holds Cas like a fragile flower, arms wrapped around his waist tightly to draw them together even closer, but then they’re forced apart by a knock on Dean’s door, the glass vibrating against it. “Hey, you ready to go do something?” Sam calls through the door.

“Uh, uh, yeah,” Dean stutters, staring at the blue-eyed angel’s mussed up state, his red lips and his disarranged clothing.

He’s kind of dizzy from their kissing and it feels nice and warm in the bottom of his stomach as he looks at Cas, knowing that _he_ got him all rumpled up like that. Cas touches his lips and smiles bashfully, turning and heading back to the bathroom.

“Okay, well come out and let’s figure out what to do,” Sam says.

Dean straightens his t-shirt and tries to not look so dazed and kissed-out.

This was going to be much harder than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up soon!


	4. Jealous Dean, ocean kisses and chocolate cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am, a towel wrapped around my head and my anti-demon possession necklace hot against my collar bone and it's one in the morning and i'm writing gay fanfiction.  
> #Goals  
> XD  
> Anyway, my lovely bumblebees, I love this chapter a lot to be perfectly honest. I laughed as I wrote it and that has to say something, right?

“We could visit Old Town,” Sam suggests, squinting at the make-shift map in front of him, giant hands on his hips. “There’s a bunch of Mexican restaurants over there and some shops that would be fun exploring.”

Sam, being the dorky little nerd he was, had literally tacked up a bunch of papers describing different entertainments and attractions above the living room TV. He had thin red strings connecting random activities to their locations, color coded sticky notes that scale the most fun to least fun and he even created a second place especially designed for restaurants that include phone numbers and ratings and food genre.

_When did he even have time to do this?_ Dean wonders.

_Probably while you and the angel were making out,_ his brain suggests.

Yeah, that could be it.

Dean glances over at Cas, who still looks a bit disheveled from only a few minutes earlier, blue eyes bright and lips still tinged a desirable red. He catches Dean’s eyes and raises his eyebrows dramatically, smirking.

_He’s so adorable!_ The Congress is chiming in again, all of them jumping up with hoorays and hoopla’s, boxing gloves thrown into a corner, replaced with heart shaped balloons and _whatthehell_ pictures of him and Cas in compromising positions!?

So annoying.

But, Cas _is_ pretty damn adorable, so Dean lets it slide.

A chill runs through his body. Even though it sucks that they can’t flaunt their relationship in public, it’s sort of thrilling and excitingly dangerous to be sneaking around like this. Dean winks at Cas behind Sam’s back, giving him his sexiest grin and Cas blushes, covering his smile with a pale fist. 

There it is.

“Or maybe Coronado Beach,” Sam says. “I read that it’s a beautiful white beach. We could take a tour of the Hotel del Coronado!”

“Sure, Sammy, whatever you want,” Dean says, slowly licking his lips as he stares right into Cas’ eyes.

Cas looks both flustered and pissed off, crossing his arms and glancing back and forth between both brothers. When Sam turns, Dean snaps his mouth shut and moves his eyes back to his brother. “Dean, you have to have some sort of preference, seeing that you’re the one who wanted to go to the beach,” Sam says, crossing his arms.

“Oh, um, I think that all sounds amazing!” Dean grins awkwardly.

Sam rolls his eyes and, oh, there’s the bitch face Dean was totally missing. “Dean-”

“Sam, as long as we get to at least see one beach, I’ll be happy. Besides, we can go swimming at any time, since the freaking beach is right outside our door.”

Sam glares at him and turns to Cas. “What do you think?”

“Coronado sounds wonderful,” Cas says with a nod.

Damn smug, attractive bastard.

“Good.” Sam straightens his checkered blue flannel that he placed over a black v-neck, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows like he’s cool or something.

The hottest weather couldn’t pull Sam away from his flannel and Dean chuckles at his little brother. What an idgit.

“Haul ‘em in, move ‘em out!”

________________________________________

Coronado is a small town full of cute little shops, eclectic houses and luscious strips of green grass chock full of colorful plants, the sun hanging low in the sky to their right. The roads aren’t as busy as Dean had thought they would be and Baby has no trouble navigating the streets. Cas has the windows rolled down in the back, the top half of his body out of the car as he stares at the sights around them with awe. Dean grins behind his cheap, dollar store shades. “Enjoying the view, Cas?”

Cas slides back into the backseat, leaning forward with his hair windblown and his eyes a bright blue. “Yes! This is so… Awesome!”

The word sounds good coming from his mouth, normal and right and Dean is glad to be a good influence. Well, he hopes he is.

After another half hour of driving, Dean turns right and the ocean is back in their line of view, including Hotel del Coronado. It’s a gorgeous building, stretching across a pearly white beach, one of the fanciest things Dean has ever seen. Palm trees are swaying in the light breeze and from here Dean can see the clearness of the water, the tiny waves lapping onto the sand and it’s almost like they shouldn’t be here. It’s so freaking luxurious and Dean wonders if they’ll get kicked out.

As if everyone knows what they do.

“So, tour first?” Sam asks as they walk across the hot pavement in their flip flops towards the entrance of the hotel.

“You’re forcing us to go on a nerd tour?” Dean whines, punching his brother in the arm.

It sort of hurts. Sam’s arm is like, rock or something.

Sam huffs, stopping in the middle of the parking lot and crossing his arms. “I’m not forcing you, Dean,” he says, frowning. “I thought it was something we’d all like to do.”

“I-”

“What about Dean and I check out the beach?” Cas says, touching his arm lightly and strangely enough, it calms him down. “We can meet somewhere afterwards.”

He gives Sam a look that says, ‘we both know Dean will act like he’s dying if we force him to go on this tour so what about I just take him off your hands for a while?’

Well, maybe it doesn’t say that, but Sam seems to relax at the look and nods. “Okay, fine.”

He looks back at the entrance. A group of young, beautiful women are headed up the steps, giggling and looking back at Sam and whispering to each other. Sam lights up. “Yeah, um, I’ll call you later,” he says, trailing off and walking away quickly, a flirty smile growing on his face, hair blowing in the wind like a L’Oréal model.

“Wow, I just- wow,” Dean says, shaking his head in disbelief.

Cas laughs and tightens his grip on Dean’s arm, pulling him closer. “Come on, let’s go to the beach.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Cas pulls him through palms trees and across luscious grass before their feet suddenly emerge into hot sand. “Oh _fuck_ ,” Dean hisses, shaking the scorching sand out of his flip flops and stepping carefully, trying to avoid small dunes that could collapse on his sensitive feet at any given moment.

Cas gives him an apologetic look, yanking him forward anyway like a little kid running towards an ice cream truck.

The beach is almost blinding when Dean looks at it, even with his sunglasses on, so he keeps his eyes on the blue ocean ahead. A few kids are running around in their soaking bathing suits, laughing and throwing sand and playing. Their parents are probably chilling out on the deck connected to the humongous hotel, which is actually much larger from the back and even ritzier and Cas is goggling at it, with cute little elephant eyes. “Come on, Romeo,” Dean says, setting his hand on Cas’ lower back.

The shoreline is far away from the hotel and Dean decides that they’re far enough away to be able to hold Cas’ hand without Sam seeing. So he bumps his hand against Cas’, interlocking their fingers, and the angel looks down, surprised. Cas stares at their hands before giving Dean an affectionate smile and squeezing his hand. “This is so amazing,” Cas says, nudging closer to Dean’s side.

“Yeah, it is,” Dean agrees.

The water is sparkling and it’s so gorgeous and Cas’ eyes are the same color as the ocean… The way he looks right now is giving Dean a sort of whiplash, like he’s breathing, but his head is still under the water, making him to both be panicked and amazed. Oh god, he just wants to say it-

“I need to tell you something,” Cas suddenly says, stopping both Dean’s train of thought and their walk.

“Oh, uh, yeah?”

Cas sighs, looking back down at their linked fingers. “My, uh, my _angel_ abilities aren’t coming back,” he says softly.

Dean blinks a few times, still caught up in what he really wants to say. Wait…

“What do you mean?”

“I think I’m… human.” Cas sighs again. “Well, I still have a bit of my power left, but it’s weak and fading slowly.”

“Oh, Cas,” Dean says. He takes both of Cas’ hands in his. “I’m sorry…”

“No, Dean, it’s okay,” Cas says, eyebrows knitting together, giving him a small, but weak smile. “Being an angel… It links me to Heaven. And I don’t want to be a part of that anymore. I don’t want my brothers and sisters to come after me, because I don’t want to you and Sam to get hurt. I just want to be with you, down here for as long as I can.”

Dean takes a deep breath, his heart lurching inside of him and it hurts in that way where the pain feels good and deep and it goes right to his goddamn soul. “Dammit, Cas, sweetheart…”

Cas smiles adorably, blushing at the nickname, and Dean presses his forehead against Cas’, grinning like a huge dork. “I need you, Cas,” Dean whispers. “I need you more than anything.”

“I need you, too, Dean Winchester,” Cas answers, gripping Dean’s shirt and pulling their bodies flush together.

The sunset is shining deep oranges and violets on Cas’ face, his skin glowing and his eyes flutter shut as Dean cups his face and brings their lips together. It’s like soft ice mixing with warm whiskey and Cas’ mouth tastes like watermelon…

Seriously, whose mouth tastes like _watermelon_!?

Dean slides a hand to the crook of Cas’ elbow and moans contently into his mouth, before pulling away gently. “You think that tour’s over yet?”

“Hmm, I hope not,” Cas answers, not even opening his eyes.

Dean wraps his arms around his shoulders and pulls him close, tucking Cas’ head under his chin. The sun is almost gone, disappearing behind the far horizon of the everlasting sapphire waters and the sky is darkening, slowly but surely.

His phone buzzes in the pocket of his shorts and he pulls it out, pressing it to his ear without letting Cas slip out of his embrace. “Yeah?”

“Hey, the tour’s over,” Sam’s voice answers.

“Aw, is the little nerd sad that his nerd convention is over?”

“Shut up. Meet by the car in five?”

“Yeah, yeah, you big baby,” Dean jokes.

They hang up and after sticking his phone back in his pocket, he places his lips on Cas’ forehead, holding them there for a moment. “We gotta go.”

“Aw…”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Ah!”

Cas backs away, grinning.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

_____________________________________

They save Old Town and Mexican food for another day, instead heading for a sit-down restaurant at the edge of Coronado that looks promising. It’s packed with tourists and they have to wait for half an hour to get a small booth near the back of the place. Cas studies the menu like it’s a bomb he has deactivate and Sam is looking at his phone with a goofy grin on his face, typing away with his big thumbs and using the backspace button a lot. 

Dean looks back and forth at them, the only sound the rumble of voices in the background and some kid screaming his head off in the ladies bathroom. “Guys,” Dean says, leaning against the wall the booth is pressed up against, his stomach rumbling.

They don’t seem to hear him.

“ _Guys_.”

“Sorry,” Cas says, looking over from the menu. “Yes, Dean?”

“We should, I don’t know… Converse. Talk like normal people would,” Dean says, drumming his fingers on Cas’ thigh under the table.

“Okay,” Cas agrees, placing the menu on the table and smiling.

They both stare at Sam who is still smiling at the tiny screen in his hands, totally oblivious to everything around him. Dean and Cas give each other a look.

Dean kicks Sam in the shin as hard as he can.

“Ouch!” Sam gripes, looking at Dean like he’s insane, “That fucking hurt!”

“Get your head out of your apps, Samantha,” Dean says gruffly, slapping his hand on the table. A salt shaker tips over and Cas places it back in its former positon without hesitation. “It’s family time!”

“I’m _busy_.”

“You’re hurting Cas’ feelings.”

They look at Cas who immediately puts on a pretty realistic sad face, his bottom lips out in an adorable pout, blue eyes literally watering.

Dean snorts and Sam sighs. “Fine. I’ll text Sarah back later.”

Oh…

Cas and Dean lean forward, grinning mischievously. “You’re texting a _girl_?” Dean asks sarcastically.

“Oh my fu- _Yes_ , Dean. I’m texting a girl.” Sam crosses his arms, luscious hair falling in his eyes as he glares at Dean, daring him to say something about it.

Dean chuckles and knocks Cas’ shoulder with his own. “Looks like Sammy finally grew a pair.”

He’s saved from a harsh retort by the waitress who slides up soundlessly next to Cas. “Hello, boys!” she chirps, pen poised over her notepad, blonde hair bouncing. “Welcome to Meticulous Meats! My name’s Mia and I will be your waitress this evening! Are you ready to order some drinks?”

Sam orders water while Dean gets both him and Cas some beers. Mia is giving Cas the googly eyes, flirting with him smoothly as she slides the dessert menu onto the table, her fingertips brushing over his knuckles. Instantly, jealously and anger floods into Dean and suddenly, he hates blondes.

Evil blonde waitresses who flounce around in heels and stained aprons, cleavage flashing around like a teenager with their first license.

_Very evil…_

“Just call me over when you’re ready to order some… Food,” Mia says, giving Cas a strange look, her eyes widening and her mouth turning up in the corners.

She struts away and Sam raises his eyebrows at Cas. “Looks like you have an admirer, Cas.”

Cas looks up from scrutinizing the menu again, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”

Uh oh… Damn adorable clueless angels. Dean’s sure he must be thinking that Sam knows about _them_.

Sam laughs, raising his eyebrows so high they might fly away. “Cas. Come on, man.”

Cas looks over at Dean, eyes wide. “I- um, I really don’t understand,” he says, smiling awkwardly, pulling his collar away from his neck in uncomfortableness.

“He means that Mia was flirting with you, Cas,” Dean says quickly, squeezing Cas’ thigh.

“Oh!” Cas visibly relaxes, hand sliding over Dean’s knuckles, smile going from strained to soft and easy. “Really?”

“Uh, yeah!” Sam is giggling now, like a cat who got the cream.

The Congress is rioting inside of Dean’s head, screaming angrily at Sam and ripping up his imaginary picture in protest, pissed off that Sam is sinking their ship. Dean agrees with them, wondering why Sam is so keen on… On _Mas_.

Or maybe Cia.

Wait, see! It doesn’t even work!

Ha!

“Well, um, I’m not exactly interested,” Cas says, chuckling with him politely.

The Congress pumps their fists. Cas rocks.

Sam leans back into the booth, crossing his arms and smirking. “Come on, Cas. When’s the last time you talked to someone besides _us_ , let alone slept with them?”

Cas swallows thickly and Dean actually laughs out loud, despite the situation.

Then Mia is back and the jealousy is superficial again, itching under Dean’s skin uncomfortably, sort of reminding him of the Mark of Cain, which just makes it all worse.

How is he supposed to show Mia here that his angel is taken, without giving it away to Sam?

Fuck.

“Here, sweetie,” Mia coos, gliding the beers across the tabletop and then handing Cas his, like he’s more important than Sam and Dean, who are clearly imaginary in the waitress’s eyes.

Cas smiles politely and Dean feels a bit better, knowing that Cas isn’t reciprocating the flirtation.

The Congress adds that to their list of reasons why Cas is the best thing to ever happen to Dean.

“Food, gentlemen?” Mia asks, looking at Cas expectantly.

Dean decides to pipe up, because right now, this booth is _his_ territory. Mysterious stains and all. “Yeah, me and this guy will have two of your finest burgers,” Dean says, flashing his fakest “kind” smile and for emphasis, he throws his arm over the top of the booth.

His fingers drift lightly over Cas’ shoulder where he’s sure Sam can’t see and he scoots a tiny bit closer, letting their thighs touch.

Ha.

Mia gives him a strange look and an uneasy smile, jotting down their order and turning to Sam. Cas gives Dean a funny look, like he’s trying to figure out what Dean is doing.

 _Dean_ doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Mia comes back with their food a little while later and Dean is forced to move his arm so he can eat and it’s like the bubble has been reopened for Mia to stick her small blonde head into. Now she’s having a conversation with Cas about what kind of dessert he should order and Dean growls under his breath.

“I think I will order the chocolate cake,” Cas decides, grinning at Dean.

“Good choice,” Mia butts in, pulling the plastic dessert sheet from Cas’ hands.

She walks away and Dean grips Cas’ hand under the table, running his thumb over Cas’ knuckles, mostly for his own comfort .

“You okay, man?” Sam says, leaning forward.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” Dean says, looking over at the kitchen, watching Mia sweep over to the kitchen and grab some plates heaped with food.

“You look, like, really worried.”

“I’m fine, Sammy. I’ll be dandy once I have some chocolate to stuff in my face.”

Sam nods and his phone buzzes. He lights up and snatches it off the table, staring at the new message like it’s research. Cas chuckles and leans his head back against the cushioned wood, turning his head to look at Dean with what should be called deep endearment. Dean smiles back and he feels warm inside, the beer swishing around in his veins and making his skin feel all glow-y and stuff. 

No one ever looks at him like this and it feels so freaking good.

And…

Then there’s Mia, sidling back up with the plate of scrumptious looking cake.

“Here’s your chocolate cake, sweetie.” She places the cake down in front of Cas and his blue eyes widen in excitement.

“I brought some extra forks in case you all want a bite.”

Mia winks for no reason but, ha, Cas is too busy digging into the mouth-watering cake, sticking the fork in his mouth and moaning around it, eyes closing slowly. Both Dean and Mia are mesmerized by this and luckily, Sam is too busy texting to notice the way Dean shifts in his seat and clears his throat. “This is delicious,” Cas says, smiling down at the cake.

“I’m, uh, very glad you enjoy it,” Mia says, biting her lip. “I’ll bring out the check.”

She hurries away and Dean groans. “What?” Cas asks around a mouthful.

“Nothing, angel,” Dean says quietly.

“Hey, I gotta use the bathroom before we leave,” Sam says, pocketing his phone and sliding out of the booth.

“Well, have fun,” Dean jokes.

Sam rolls his eyes and ambles off.

“Dean, what’s wrong?” Cas asks, turning towards him.

“You’re just… Being too sexy and stuff,” Dean grumbles, crossing his arms.

Cas laughs, shaking his head. “I am most certainly not. You’re reading into things.”

“Normal people do not moan like porn stars when eating cake.”

“Well, I am not normal _am_ I?” Cas smirks and stabs at a piece of cake.

He holds it up, raising his eyebrows. “Come on, open up.”

“NO.”

“Yes. It’s absolutely splendid, Dean, you have to try some!”

“I- Fine.”

Dean opens his mouth and Cas laughs lightly as he guides the fork into Dean’s mouth carefully. Dean bites down and Cas slides the utensil out smoothly, raising his eyebrows in wait.

Damn, this cake is so fucking good.

“Okay,” Dean admits, nodding his head as a moan slips out. “This is almost as beautiful as pie.”

Cas laughs and Dean catches Mia out of the corner of his eye. Her eyes are wide and it seems like she has started to finally figure it out.

Well, he might as well confirm her suspicions right?

Dean smiles sexily and leans in, kissing Cas on the corner of his mouth and sucking up a small spot of chocolate stuck there with a light moan.

Oh, yeah. _His_ territory, baby.

When he pulls away with a soft smack, Cas is blushing furiously, looking adorably flustered. “Dean,” he whispers, touching his cheek, blinking rapidly like he can’t believe what just happened.

“Yeah?”

Cas ducks his head shyly, cheeks still red as a tomato, and Dean grins, scooping up another bite of chocolate cake.

Sam comes back and sits back down, an even larger smile on his face, and Mia chooses this is the best time to come over and hand them the check. Her cheeks are red and she is looking back and forth at Cas and Dean, making her blush even further. “Thanks,” Dean says, smiling as he grabs the check and pays.

She stands there, looking at her feet, and Dean realizes that maybe that bit with the chocolate cake wasn’t his brightest move. He hands the check back and Mia takes it, still waiting by the table, shifting back and forth. “Oh, did we forget something?” Sam asks.

“No, I- I just wanted to say that you guys look really great together,” Mia says with a stutter, looking at Cas and Dean with a small smile.

Sam raises his eyebrows and before Dean can even register anything, she scuttles away. “Um…” Sam laughs. “That’s weird. I wonder why she thought you guys were a couple.”

“Yeah, I wonder why,” Dean says, trying not to go red. “Well, let’s get going!”

Cas and Sam lead the way and Dean leaves a generous tip.

It’s the least he can do after scarring some twenty year old with gayness, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter up soon!


	5. Angels in Oceans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello bumblebees!  
> Funny chapter ahead!  
> ;)

Dean falls back onto his bed, heart still pounding from earlier.

He’s pretty sure he made a huge ass mistake back there.

There were a lot of people in that place and Mia could have reported them to her manager and Sam could have found out and then everything would go up in flames, one tiny bite of chocolate cake at a time.

“Dean?”

Dean turns his head and grins. Cas is in the bathroom doorway, wearing sweatpants that hang loosely from his hips and Dean’s AC/DC shirt all casual like. “Can I..?”

“Oh, yeah, of course.”

Dean scoots over and Cas walks over, sliding onto the bed and lying down next to him. “Hi,” he whispers.

With a chuckle, Dean rolls over to place a kiss below Cas’ ear. “Hello.”

“Dean, why did you get so jealous at the restaurant?” Cas asks, looking over at him.

So Dean _isn’t_ getting past this one without a talking-to from Heaven’s most badass angel. He’s sort of scared. Cas has his game face on.

“I don’t know, Cas,” Dean says, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t like other people flirting with you all the time.”

Cas doesn’t speak for a moment. Then he is suddenly moving the pillow above Dean’s head, replacing it with himself and making Dean move his head into his lap. Cas leans down and grazes his nose along Dean’s forehead, lips spreading over Dean’s hairline. “You’re sort of an idiot.”

Dean gasps like he’s offended. “Well _that_ always makes a guy wanna put out,” he grumbles, closing his eyes, smiling jokingly.

“Dean, you have nothing to worry about,” Cas says, running his fingers through Dean’s hair. “I’m yours, babe, so stop getting jealous. Or I’ll have to, um, kick your ass.”

Dean laughs and grins childishly. “Anything for you, doll face. But I can’t promise that I won’t be a tiny bit jealous.”

Rolling his eyes, Cas skims his lips over the bridge of Dean’s nose and pecks him on the lips lightly. “I like you a lot.”

“I like you more.”

“I like you most.”

“I doubt it, sweetheart.”

Cas pulls away with a glare. “Oh _really_?”

“Cas, our first argument as a couple will not be about who likes each other more.”

“But I like arguing.”

“I know you do. And _no_.”

“Okay…”

Dean kisses Cas on the chin before sitting up. “Damn, I need a shower.”

“I’m guessing it wouldn’t be productive if I join you,” Cas says with a frown.

Dean gives him an apologetic look as he crawls off the bed. “Can I make it up with pancakes tomorrow?”

Cas brightens. “Yes. Pancakes will definitely make up for it.”

Dean kisses him on the forehead. “Good.”

____________________________________

The ocean is crashing loudly outside and the moon is a soft glow on the carpet as Dean stares out the window, even though it’s too dark to see anything. He sighs, scratching as his damp hair, feeling restless and alone.

This sucks.

All he wants is Cas’ warm body next to him and against him and on him, because without it he feels sort of cold and he can’t sleep. Dean wants to have Cas snoring next to him, have his dark unruly hair pressed up against his bare stomach, his feet so tangled within the sheets and Dean’s own that they can’t tell each other apart. He shouldn’t feel this way on vacation! He should be having the absolute best experience and someone to share it with.

And… Sam is probably asleep right?

Dean decides to take a chance, slipping out from under the chilly covers and padding his way towards the bathroom and Cas’ door. Fortunately, the door doesn’t squeak like their refrigerator at home and Dean peeks his head in quietly. Cas’ silhouette is curled up in the flower printed comforter, breathing slowly with little lip flutters and Dean smiles, tiptoeing over to the empty side of the bed and sliding in next to Cas. “Hey, sweetheart, you awake?” Dean whispers, poking Cas in the face.

Cas groans lightly, digging his forehead into the pillow with an incoherent mumble. His nose twitches and Dean has the sudden urge to kiss him all over. But he doesn’t, because Cas can be a real grump when he’s awoken before ten a.m.

“ _Hey_ ,” Dean whisper yells.

“Hmwha.”

“Hey, assbutt.”

“Dwhean?”

Cas eyes open groggily and he groans again and it’s sort of adorable.

“Yeah, it’s me. Your, um, boyfriend partner thing.”

Cas chuckles, burrowing deeper into the bed and closer to Dean. “You’re my boyfriend partner thing?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Okay.” Cas shuffles over, sticking his face into Dean’s chest and sighing deeply in content.

“Sorry for wakin’ you up.”

“It’s fine. I’m glad you’re here.”

“I couldn’t sleep without you.”

“Aw.” Cas tips his head up to kiss under Dean’s jaw. “You’re here now. So just go to _sleep…_ ”

“Yessir.”

Dean falls asleep to the constant lull of Cas’ breathing and the faint sound of the sea, no longer cold.

_______________

Sam wakes up to chipmunks chattering somewhat angrily outside of his window.

His hair is a bird’s nest and his phone is stuck to his stomach with sweat and moist heat and it’s hella uncomfortable. Groaning, he pulls it off with a smack, sitting up and scratching his chin as he sways awake. All that late night texting was not his brightest idea, but really, Sarah was persistent and she seems to be nocturnal, because he was up till, like, midnight.

That’s way past his bedtime.

Sam rolls out of the bed and stumbles to the door, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Their little condo kitchen is actually pretty sweet and Sam hopes that Dean is in the mood to cook up some breakfast for them all. He starts up the coffee, eyes still blurry and he accidentally burns himself on the pot.

After cursing quietly and hopping up and down while clutching his finger, Sam decides that he should go hop on Dean’s bed and wake him up in the most annoying way possible. He slides Dean’s door open slowly, creeping into the dimly lit room and towards the burrito heap on the side of the mattress. He leaps onto the bed and prepares himself for a gun in his face or fists flying but…

Nothing comes.

Because Dean isn’t in bed.

Well… That’s weird.

Sam crawls off the bed and stands in the middle of the room, scratching his head. Where the hell is he?

Maybe Cas knows.

He strides over to the bathroom, making sure Dean isn’t on the toilet or something before slowly cracking open Cas’ door and peeking in.

_Wow, Cas sure does like to bundle up at night_ , Sam thinks as he looks at the large breathing form of covers bunched up in the middle of the bed. The yellow walls and pink flowers look bright in contrast to the dark room, but he still manages to stub his toe on the corner of the bed. Sam hobbles over to the side of the bed and hopes that Cas won’t smite him if he wakes him up.

Their vacation would really be ruined then.

So he moves the comforter away a bit and _holyfuckingshit_.

It’s… It’s _Dean_.

In Cas’ _bed_.

Curled up around Cas like a sloth, his head nuzzled into the side of Cas’ neck, breathing softly, already drooling, so he must have been here for more than just awhile and-

“Those fuckers,” Sam mumbles. “I knew it.”

He places the covers back on top of them without awakening them and slips out of the room, fixing himself a cup of coffee with a huge grin on his face.

Took them long enough.

 

Dean looks up to see Cas staggering into the kitchen, his dark hair a big sexy mess and his shirt rolled up to reveal the tattoo on his stomach. The first time Dean saw it in its entirety, he got so choked up that he probably would have died, if not for Cas’ nimble finger swiping across his forehead, which definitely did not help the heat beginning to swirl in his belly. At least he stopped choking, but still- Cas looked freaking hot with a tat.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Dean says, flipping the pancakes onto their uncooked sides, eyeing Cas without being too pervy.

“Hello, Dean.” Cas sits down at the bar, his head in his hands, scratching his head and making the stray locks stick up randomly.

“Hey, I made pancakes!” Dean beams, “Just like I said!”

Cas moves his hands away and smiles sleepily. “Yes, thank you Dean.”

With a chuckle, Dean pulls out a plate and stacks up a load of pancakes, swirling syrup all over them and placing it in front of Cas with about as much agility as a toddler. “Go ahead,” he urges, handing him a fork. “Dig in.”

Cas examines Dean’s face before tentatively cutting into the soft pile and taking a bite. “Mm!” Cas smiles while chewing. “You did a very nice job, Dean.”

“Good!” Dean grins at Cas’ approval, scraping a few more pancakes off the griddle and onto the small platter.

“Where’s Sam?” Cas asks around another mouthful.

“Went for a run,” Dean says, scraping the last of the batter onto the griddle. “Now he gets his pancakes cold.”

Dean sits across from Cas after sliding the last pancake off of the cooling surface and digs into his pancakes, shooting Cas a bright grin. “So what do you wanna do today? Check out the town, go to the beach, sit here all day like a couple of loons?” Dean asks.

Cas ponders over this, licking syrup off his fork. “I think… We should do what you want.”

Dean gives him a look. “Cas.”

“Dean.”

“Cas.”

“Dean.”

“Sam!”

They look over to see Sam standing in the open doorway, a big grin on his face and his hair limp and sweaty from his run. “Dude, you gotta stop watching Shrek,” Dean mumbles.

Sam is still standing in the same place, smiling like a giant dork, looking back and forth at them like he’s waiting for them to jump up and down or do the splits. 

“What?” Dean asks, narrowing his eyes. “Did you do something?”

“No!” Sam shakes his head and walks back towards his room. “It’s nothing! I need a shower.”

Dean groans dramatically. “Sam’s been acting like a freak for weeks,” he tells Cas.

“I heard that, Shrek!”

__________________________________________

They’ve been in San Diego for twenty-four hours and the sun still looks like a dynamic painting set beyond the horizon and branding the sky a brilliant milky orange. The waves behind their hotel are much larger than Coronado beach, crashing against the shore and fortunately, not as many people are camped out on the beach, only a few stragglers soaking up the rays and laying back under huge umbrellas. Sam said he had to make a phone call, as if he has someone besides them to talk to, so Dean and Cas go ahead to visit the ocean.

Cas has a t-shirt and one of Dean’s old pair of swim trunks on, lathered up in sunscreen and lotion (because Dean wasn’t letting him go out there and get burnt to a crisp and not be able to cover him in sunburn-soothe afterwards) and Dean has one of those heart attacks again when they get down to the beach, all because of Cas and his unknowingly sexiness. He begins to pull the shirt off slowly as they put their stuff down, like a sexy swimsuit model or something.

Damn.

His tan skin glows and his hipbones are almost sinful and the way the swim trunks hang loosely around his hips…

Dean clears his throat, tearing his eyes away, and he sets down a few towels, kicking off his comfy flip flops and squishing the dry sand between his toes. Clumps of seaweed are everywhere and it looks sort of drabby, but nothing is really perfect.

Except Cas.

God, he is so whipped…

Dean tears his own shirt off and braces himself for the cold water, only having been in the ocean once when he was young. Cas is already heading towards the water so Dean follows, watching him closely, waiting for that first lap of foamy ocean spray to collide against Cas’ shins, that first handful of salty water to stream between his slender fingers and that joyful smile to spread across his face. And all of that happens just like Dean pictured it, even greater than that, and Cas laughs, wading into the water despite how cold it is and his arms are spread wide.

Cas looks absolutely stunning and it takes Dean’s breath away. Cas throws his head back, letting the sun soak into his skin, Dean not able to look away at the beautiful allure happening in front of his eyes, the way Cas hair is lighter in the sun and how he looks happy and free and like an angel.

“Hey, losers!”

Dean turns and immediately wishes he hadn’t. Sam is barreling towards him with a giant water balloon in his hands, a wild and mischievous grin on his face, and damn, that is so counter-productive seeing as how the whole fucking ocean is in front of him and _ohfuck_ -

Sam drops it on top of Dean’s head and it explodes, ice and the fucking coldest water Dean’s probably ever felt pouring all over his bare chest and down his back. _“Holy sh-”_

Sam bursts out in peals of laughter and Dean can hear Cas laughing too and even though it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard, he’s pissed at his giant little brother so what’s the next best possible solution?

Push him under the whole damn ocean.

“Dean, shit, stop, no!” Sam is still laughing, but also screaming like he’s five.

Dean uses all of his strength to drag Sam past Cas and into the freezing cold water, forcing him onto his knees. “Drink up Sammy!”

“Dean!”

Dean laughs hysterically and then suddenly he’s pulled into the water, his back slipping against the slimy and sandy ocean floor and _shit_ that’s cold! He hears Sam laughing as he bursts through the surface, wiping the stinging water out of his eyes and he sees Cas standing above him with his hand out.

“Oh dear,” Dean says, giving him a sympathetic look. “What a mistake you have made.”

He grabs it and pulls Cas down with him.

“Dean!”

They submerge under the water and Dean kisses Cas’ hand, the least he can do without Sam seeing, because he can’t go that long anymore without some sort of contact. This would all be so much easier if he could just tell Sam.

But he can’t do that.

Because of… John.

Their dad programmed it into their brains all those years ago, the same filthy sentences repeated over and over again whenever a vaguely feminine man or manly woman walked past. _Gays are freaks, boys. They’re disgusting and I never want to see you boys interacting with ‘em. Never forget it._

So Sam would be disgusted too, right? I mean, he was there during those conversations. He used to eye the people warily, as if they might infect him with their gayness or something. Maybe he was just doing it to please their dad, but he might have actually believed it and remembered it every single time.

It took Dean forever to realize that his dad was full of complete shit and that people who are attracted to the same gender should not be looked down upon.

They can actually be the best friends you’ll ever have. Charlie, for example. She’s one of the coolest people Dean’s ever met and she’s attracted to girls. It’s never been an issue and that one time Dean went into that tent and Charlie was busy making out with some chick fairy had only surprised him because he hadn’t been expecting it. But every one of them in general- They are accepting and different and quirky and Dean hates his dad for telling them that all those years ago.

But Dean’s proud, because he has come farther than ever in the last ten years, learned so much about himself and Sam and the other people he’s grown to love and care about along the way and look-

He’s gay for a fallen angel!

That has to say something!

But he and Sam have never exactly spoken about that stuff, besides Dean’s own homophobic comments and cruel jokes he made before he met and started to fall for Cas.

So, Sam could still be utterly repelled by it.

And right now, they’re good. There’s no big bad, Dean has the angel, Sam seems fairly well…

Why mess with it?

The rest of the afternoon is spent splashing water in each other’s faces and pushing heads under the salty water and laughing so hard that Dean’s stomach hurts.

This is how every day should be.

Team Free Will, enjoying the freedom they gained from serving justice and kicking ass.

There’s Cas, brilliant and practically glowing, the lines of his face scrunching up beautifully when he grins, his blue eyes doting and bright when he looks at Dean like he loves him more than anything in the world.

Sam, hazel-eyed and laughing deeply and like he is truly enjoying this moment, his long wet hair pushed back and his voice high from yelling.

Dean just loves them both so damn much.

Sam and Dean share a look from time to time and Dean is hit with the realization that without hunting, this could be their lives. Carefree, full of laughter, soaking in the setting sun and the briny water and grainy sand. Even though he never wants to leave, Dean can’t wait to get home and pull out his shoes and watch the sand sprinkle onto his shaggy carpet, a constant reminder of this awesome trip.

Damn, it feels so good.

Dean never wants to let it go.

And the Congress totally agrees with him, so that’s a bonus.

Afterwards, they stumble towards the hotel with loopy grins on their faces, all of them tanner and happier, and Dean’s positive that the ocean cleansed that after burn from the Mark of Cain away, along with some of the lingering sadness and heartache. “Well boys,” Dean says once the elevator doors close, “I’m going to take a nice, hot shower and then we’re goin’ to paint the town.”

Sam grins and tucks his long, wet locks of hair behind his ear. “Sounds like a great plan.”

Cas nods too, staring off into space and Dean tries not to stare too hard at the farmer’s tan on the back of his neck, creeping out of sight under Cas’ wet t-shirt, which is outlining his muscles in all the right ways. Yeah, if Dean stares too hard, he just might not be able to hide anything that may occur so he stares at the peeling wallpapered walls.

Once they’re in their condo, Sam heads for his bedroom and Dean slides his bedroom doors shut and strips off his clothes quickly, already thinking about yummy food and delicious scents. “Would it be inappropriate to join you?”

Dean freezes, thumbs tucked inside the waistband of his swim trunks, staring at Cas who is leaning against the bathroom doorway, arms crossed and a tiny amused smile on his face. His hair is still soaked to the core and tiny droplets of water plop onto the white tile under his feet and _damn_ that t-shirt looks so good…

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Dean says with an apologetic grin. “The moose isn’t too far away.”

“I won’t make a sound,” Cas promises, raising that one dom eyebrow that drives Dean crazy.

“Oh, but I can’t promise that _I_ won’t make a sound.”

“Aw…”

“Cheer up,” Dean says, sliding off his shorts and stepping out of them, trying not to let his cheeks grow warm as Cas checks him out, nothing hush-hush about it. “Maybe we can lick chocolate off each other when Sam inevitably needs to use the little men’s room at the restaurant.

Cas sighs. “Okay… But please don’t stay in there for an hour.”

“Honey, stop exaggerating,” Dean jokes. “I shower in, like, ten seconds.”

He leaves with a fake, yet adorable pout.

Oh brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarification-  
> The Darkness didn't come when the MOC was removed.  
> Cas is an adorable little human.  
> Dean's a gooey little shit. Just bc I can and I want to. ;)
> 
> To be continued...


	6. Sexual innuendos, tickle fights and Sam knows, of course

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam messes with Cas and Dean a bit...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update Bumblebees!  
> Enjoy!

“I don’t think we’re fancy enough for this place, babe,” Dean whispers to Cas as they follow the tight ass hostess through a maze of diamond wearing ladies in long dresses and suit clad gentlemen drinking champagne.

` This seafood place Sam said they should eat at is way flashy and expensive, much too cool for two hunters and an ex-angel. Dean feels inadequate in his jeans and button down and he swears that every patron perched at the tables they pass by give him a glare, looking him up and down like he’s the scum on the bottom of their leather shoes. Cas looks good, back in his black jeans and the blue button down from earlier, but even he doesn’t meet the expectations of the restaurant apparently if one gentlemen’s strange look says anything.

Sam doesn’t seem to notice anything out of place, striding ahead of them while looking around like it’s a museum and the other customers are wax figures and not scary with their pointed glares. “Dean, that’s idiotic,” Cas whispers back, shaking his head. “We’re here to enjoy our meal and pay just like the rest of these people. We’ll never see them again, anyway.”

Dean sighs, knowing Cas is right. But he still can’t shake it off and he wishes he could hold Cas’ hand. Even just his pinkie finger would do. They’re seated in a comfy looking booth that has fish carved into the back of it and little fish saltshakers. Even the silverware has a little goldfish on the handle and the light fixture is a giant puffer fish.

Dean really hopes it doesn’t come alive and eat them.

After they order their drinks, Sam leans forward expectantly, swallowing a bit hard. “So uh, guys, I have to tell you something.”

Dean frowns, tapping his fingers on the pristine little menu. “What?”

“I- Okay, don’t get mad,” Sam says, putting his hands up, staring at Dean intensely.

“Dammit, Sammy, just spit it out.”

“Well, I sort of invited Sarah to have dinner with us,” Sam says slowly, wringing his napkin between his hands nervously.

Well damn. That explains a lot. It explains how dressed up Sam is and how he wouldn’t let Dean talk him out of going to this place.

Dean groans. “Sam, why the hell didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t want you getting weirded out! Like, have a panic attack about it being a double date or something…”

Dean pauses, reflecting on what he would have said a few months ago. He would have definitely freaked out and made a big deal out of it. Going to dinner with Sam and his girl and… Cas? He would have had a gay panic about having to fake date Cas, knowing that he was scared something more than acting would slip out.

But now, a double date sounds fairly okay, except for the fact that Sam doesn’t know Dean and Cas are together.

Oh crap.

“No- I’m- Sam, it’s fine.” Dean tries to get the words out calmly, tries not to say something stupid.

“Okay, but here’s the tricky part,” Sam says, gritting his teeth a little wider than just a simple joking manner. “I, um, told her you guys were a couple…”

_WaitholyshitSamknowshowdidhefindoutcrapdidhewalkinonus_ -

“So could you guys just… _Act_ like a real couple?” Sam finishes, looking back and forth at them urgently, eyes wide.

Oh.

Well…

“Why the hell did you lie?” Dean asks, trying not to blush.

“She didn’t want to go on a date with just me, because she’s a little shy,” Sam explains, smiling to himself. “And she wanted to go with another couple so I sort of just said you guys were…” Sam gestures between them. “And I can’t tell her you aren’t, because I don’t want her to think of me as a liar!”

Suddenly, the puppy eyes are on full force and Sam looks about six years old again and Dean can’t resist that freaking look… Well, maybe it could be fun.

Besides, what better way to ease his little brother into it?

“Fine. Anything for you.” Dean pretends to glare at him, when really he’s sort of excited.

They get to be a couple now! Even if it’s faking a fake relationship! Or something like that. Sweet!

“Are you okay with that, Cas?” Sam asks.

Cas sighs and nods. “Okay. If Dean is okay with it.”

Ha. What a little faker.

“Great.” Sam smiles, but it’s the kind where it looks like he knows something Dean doesn’t…

Weirdo.

“Sam?”

They all look over to see a very beautiful lady standing next to the table shyly, as if she might not be welcome. She’s wearing a sundress and sandals and her cheeks are rosy, her eyes round. “Sarah,” Sam beams, grinning.

Sam’s look goes from smug and puppy eyes to gooey and full on whipped. He stands up quickly and Dean’s mouth about drops open when Sam bends over and grabs Sarah’s petite hand and kisses it, gazing up into her eyes like a true gentleman. Sarah is quite a looker, golden hair falling down her back like a waterfall and her chocolate brown eyes sparkling as she looks at Sam and there must be something between them that means more than a simple date.

Sarah blushes deeply as Sam stands up straight again, towering over her short, tiny figure and they turn to Dean and Cas. “This is my brother and his boyfriend, Castiel,” Sam says, looking at them proudly and it makes Dean’s heart leap.

“Sam has told me so much about both of you!” Sarah says with a pretty smile, holding out her hand.

Both Cas and Dean shake it firmly, smiling back. Sam lets Sarah slip into the booth first, sitting across Cas, before he slides in after her. The waiter comes back with their drinks, taking Sarah’s order before disappearing again into the land of rich people. “So how did you guys meet again?” Dean asks, still confused about how this whole thing got started.

Sarah looks over at Sam, waiting for him to start and Dean gets a good, tough vibe from her, even in her quietness. Sam chuckles, fingertip drawing shapes in the perspiration on his glass. “Well, we met on that tour of Hotel del Coronado,” he begins, looking over at Sarah. “We got to talking in the old fashioned elevator ride and I feel like we hit it off pretty well.” 

Sarah nods, approving Sam’s explanation. “Sam here wouldn’t let me leave without getting my number,” She teases, her hand brushing down Sam’s arm.

Sam blushes, laughing lightly and he seems so ecstatic it makes Dean grin. The waiter comes and goes frequently, bringing back biscuits and then their entrees. They talk about California and Sarah’s job as a lawyer and once she comes out of her shell, Dean realizes that this girl is about as brilliant as Sam. She’s gorgeous and smart and presents herself in a way that makes everyone around her comfortable, even if she isn’t the most talkative one in the room.

While they wait for dessert, Sarah turns to them and Dean knows it’s time to act like the cutest couple in the whole damn universe, which won’t be hard since they are. “So what about you guys? How did you meet?” She asks.

Dean and Cas look at each other and Cas smiles lightly, urging him to start. “Well, we met about seven years ago,” Dean says, looking back at them. “Cas… He got me out of a pretty tough situation. I was in Hell.”

Sarah nods and Dean tries not to snort, knowing that she doesn’t think he’s being literal. But he holds it together for everyone’s sake.

“We got to know each other and I was sort of in denial for a while about my- my feelings for him.” Dean grabs Cas’ hand under the table and his body gravitates closer. “Then Cas showed me what it felt like to be happy with myself and with someone who cares about me.”

Cas smiles when Dean looks over and continues for him. “He was very stubborn at first, but I do think I brought him to a few realizations. But Dean taught me what it was like to live. I’ll never be able to repay him for the joy and wisdom he gave me, most of it without even knowing. Our bond is profound and unlike anything I have ever felt before. And that’s why I fell in love with him.”

Dean gasps lightly and he can see Sam and Sarah staring out of the corner of his eye, but right now everything else disappears and all he can see is Cas. His heart is thumping in his chest and he feels frozen as they look at each other, Cas’ blue eyes deep like the ocean and he is Dean’s and no one else’s.

Dean wouldn’t choose another person to spend the rest of his life with and nobody else can compare to the celestial being before him, the insuperable knowledge hidden deep in the crevices of Cas’ mind and the innocence layered thick around him. That’s one of the many things that draws Dean towards him.

How Cas is strong and powerful and deadly with an angel blade while also being an adorable baby in a trench coat who once didn’t even know how to walk without looking like a tight ass. Now, with his deadpans and head tilts and honesty when he doesn’t understand something, he’s somehow even more captivating. How he loves animals and bees and the broken earth, how he wants to fix everything, how he doesn’t expect too much from Dean and looks at him with utter adoration. How the hell is Cas still here?

Dean’s screwed up so many damn times and he’s treated Cas like he’s expendable for far too long, when really he loves him so much he is afraid to lose him.

Cas is irresistible.

And he’s everything Dean wants, everything he _needs_.

He’ll love Cas with all he has, to the last of his days. And that’s a promise.

“Sweetheart…” Dean whispers, but Cas cuts him off with a kiss.

He doesn’t even care that Sam and his date are sitting right across from them or that all of the rich people around them are most likely staring at them. All that matters right now is Cas and his soft lips and his slender fingers lightly brushing across Dean’s cheek. It’s just past chaste, but it still causes a cold thrill to run through his body and then they pull away slowly, both opening their eyes and looking at each other a bit too intensely to be appropriate in a place like this, but hey, they’ve already broken so many rules that another one won’t matter that much.

“Oh wow,” Sarah breathes and they look over to see her and Sam staring at them bug-eyed, both for completely different reasons. “You guys are, um, sexy as hell together.”

Dean blushes and Cas links their fingers together and _shit_ Sam’s eyes are so big they might pop out of his head. “Oh, um, thanks,” Dean says, avoiding Sam’s gawking and instead smiling at Sarah awkwardly.

“So tell us more about yourself,” Cas says, prying Sarah’s attention away from the two brothers.

Dean gives Sam a wide berth, steering clear of his severe gaze and listening intently to Sarah. Sam eventually looks away to share a banana sundae with Sarah and Cas gives Dean a look that says ‘calm the fuck down or I will take you to the bathroom’.

Oo, kinky.

Wait, nope, not kinky. Cas’ eyes say business and Dean doesn’t wanna mess with that.

He slings an arm onto the back of the booth, fingers dangling over Cas’ shoulder and they talk for a while more before Sam stands up and holds out his hand for Sarah to take. “Guess we better head out,” Sam says and Sarah takes his hand.

“You’re leaving with her?” Dean asks, sliding out of the booth with Cas in tow.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Sam says, smiling down at her.

Sarah grins. “I don’t mind one bit. But I do have work in the morning so I’ll have him home at eleven.” She pats Sam’s chest while addressing Dean.

“You mind if I have a word with my brother real quick?” Sam asks.

“I don’t mind at all. Castiel and I can get to know each other a bit better,” Sarah says, winking.

Cas nods and squeezes Dean’s hand before sliding back into the booth with Sarah. Dean feels a bit chilly as he follows Sam outside and he hopes Sam doesn’t freak out or rip out his heart and stomp on it or feed him to a giraffe. “So,” Sam says, turning to look at Dean. “How did you think that went?”

Dean blinks a few times. “Um, it went pretty good man. Sarah digs you.”

“Yeah,” Sam chuckles, looking up at the streetlamp above them, rocking on his heels. “I like her a lot. I just feel like we have a connection, you know?”

Nodding, Dean looks left and right, waiting for a creepy white van to come speeding around a corner and a group of darkly dressed guys to stuff him inside and demand Dean to tell them about what he feels for Cas.

Well, that’s probably not going to happen, but whatever. Dean’s prepared.

“So you like her?”

“Yeah, Sam, she’s awesome. Totally your type.”

“Does that mean… I can go?” Sam asks.

Dean scoffs and gives his brother a look. “Um, I’m not exactly your keeper Sammy.”

“I know, I just feel bad about ditching you guys.”

“Hell, Sam, I’m not going to keep you from seeing someone. If you like her, don’t let her get away, man,” Dean knows he isn’t exactly talking about Sam and this random lady, but he continues anyway. “I’m not the boss of you and if you wanna do this, go for it. What’s holding you back from something that could change your entire life? Cause I certainly ain’t.”

Sam stares at him, a smile on his face and he crosses his arms all smug like he knows something Dean doesn’t. “So, you’re saying that if I _really_ liked someone, someone who I thought you might not approve of, I should tell you anyway, because you care about me?”

“Um, yes?”

“And if I didn’t tell you, you would think I was being a giant dumbass?”

“Yes, but…Wait, wh-”

“And if I just happened to walk into Cas’ room this morning to find you both in his bed, you won’t freak out and attack me with a hammer?”

Sam smirks slowly and then Dean registers what he just said and _holyfuckingshit_ -

“You knew!?” Dean yells, eyes widening like that one time he got ghost sickness, his heart pounding.

That. Little. _Shit_.

Sam laughs hysterically and he has to grip his knees to keep from falling over while Dean stands there frozen, his mouth open in utter surprise, his hands loose and hanging at his sides like weights. “What the hell, Sam.”

“What the hell, _Sam_!?” Sam repeats, looking at Dean like he’s crazy. “Excuse me, _I_ am not the one who decided to keep the most important thing in my life a secret from my only brother!”

He sort of has a point but…

“Wait, so telling Sarah we were a couple wasn’t just an accident.”

“Of course not. I just wanted to see how you would react, douchebag.” Sam grins and then it fades away again. “But really, Dean… Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just…” Dean runs his fingers through his hair. “All that shit dad used to say has bothered me for years and it used to scare me to the point that I would make fun of every single gay person I could find.” He looks up at Sam who has his arms crossed and is listening intently. “But ever since dad died, I’ve been able to see that a lot of what he said was total crap. And Cas…” Dean’s voice fades off.

Sam’s eyes soften. “You love him don’t you?”

Dean takes a deep breath before answering. “Yeah, Sam, I do. More than I loved Cassie, more than Lisa…” Dean chuckles lightly, heart swelling. “More than fucking pie.”

They both laugh gently and Sam sort of looks like he’s going to cry. “Dammit, Dean, I’m _happy_ for you. You’re my brother and if you love Cas, then I love him too,” Sam says, blinking a lot.

They go in for a hug at the same time, Dean melting into his little brother’s familiar embrace and they don’t let go for a few minutes. “Fuck, Sam, I love him so much,” Dean whispers fiercely.

Sam chuckles and hugs him tighter. “I know, man. The way you guys look at each other and all the shit you guys have been through… No wonder you have a profound bond.”

“Ha, yeah.”

“So… Have you guys consummated your relationship yet or…?”

Dean pulls away so fast he almost falls back. “Nope, that’s not happening.”

Sam laughs and the restaurant door opens behind them to reveal Cas and Sarah, chatting about something enthusiastically. “Just don’t let him get away, okay?” Sam says softly, patting Dean on the back.

Dean nods. “I have for too long.”

Sam smiles and walks towards Sarah, plastering a genuine smile on his face. “Ready to go?” He asks.

“Yes,” Sarah answers, linking her arm through his. “Bye guys! It was really nice to meet you!”

“It was very nice to meet you too,” Cas says, smiling politely.

Sarah waves and then they walk off into the warm night. Cas turns to Dean and smiles. “Are you okay?”

“I’m perfect,” Dean says, trying to smile.

He turns to walk towards the Impala, his mind racing with the events of the evening. Now Sam knows and Sarah knows and Sam apparently knew and Dean is feeling a bit overwhelmed- “Dean!”

Dean stops and looks back at Cas who is hurrying towards him, blue eyes full of concern. “Dean, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me.” Cas grabs Dean’s hands. “Just tell me.”

“Sam knows, Cas,” Dean says, smile lopsided and his heart still racing. “He knows and he’s freaking happy for us.”

Cas raises his eyebrows and sort of smiles. “Oh. Are you alright with that?”

Dean sighs and leans back against the Impala. “Yeah. I’m just surprised, I guess. I thought something really bad was going to happen and it didn’t and I’m… Still reeling.”

Cas nods and loosens his grip on Dean’s hands. “Well, would you like to go back to our room?”

“Honestly, anywhere that has you there is perfect.”

Smiling, Cas looks around before looking back with wide and exuberant blue eyes. “Does ice cream and pie sound adequate?”

___________________________

“Dammit, Cas, let me get it in the hole.”

“No.”

“ _Yes_ , you horny bastard. I’m not doing it out in the hall.”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“ _Not that big of a deal!?_ Cas, we could drip and stuff. And I can’t balance everything.”

“Try.”

“Dam- Cas- just let me unlock the door.”

Dean finally gets the door open and they both stumble through, ice cream cups and pie balanced precariously in their arms. “See, sweetheart? That didn’t take long did it?”

“Shut up, Dean.”

They collapse on the couch and while Cas searches for a suitable channel for them to watch, Dean moans around his cherry pie and stuffs his face full with rocky road ice cream. “Can we watch the Geography Channel?” Cas asks, looking back at him with puppy eyes.

Dean smiles. “I don’t mind.”

Cas scoots closer so he can reach for the remote and the TV itinerary and goes back to staring intently at the large screen. The pie is gone in a few seconds and Dean attacks the ice cream, creamy droplets gathering in the corners of his mouth. Dean places his hand against the small of Cas’ back, leaning back even further into the comfy couch and sighing. This vacation was already taking a lot out of him and even though it feels really good, Dean could really use a nap. He places the empty containers on the coffee table and watches Cas observe the screen. Today’s animal seems to be fierce lions and their escapades through forest and Cas’ mouth is open, head tilted as he listens. Dean chuckles and pulls out his phone, messing around with it before holding it up and snapping a quick picture of Cas.

The picture loads and Dean grins at how adorable his man looks. Like a little kid being taught the alphabet for the first time, the little pink spoon in his mouth, dangling haphazardly. He tucks his phone away and Cas looks back, popping the spoon out from between his lips. “Hi,” Dean says, smirking playfully.

Cas rolls his eyes and swipes his thumb across the corner of Dean’s mouth, sucking the stray streak of chocolate into his own mouth with a seductive smirk. “Yum,” he says.

Dean pounces so quickly that Cas doesn’t see it coming. Cas is soon splayed out on the couch, Dean on top of him and locking his arms snugly under his knees, poking at his collar bone and giving no mercy. “Oh, Dean, no, no, please,” Cas breaths and then he is laughing like a maniac, throwing his head to the side and squeezing his eyes shut.

Dean continues to tickle him, searching for any possible location that could make Cas burst out into fresh peals of adorable giggles.

“Dean, please.”

“What is the magic word?”

Cas cackles, face scrunching up. “Dammit Dean, please.”

_”Magic word?”_

Cas squirms, trying to wrestle out from under him, but Dean puts all of his weight on Cas’ chest and grins down at him, fingertips running lightly over his collar bone and chin. “Sweetheart,” Dean says, leaning down with one hand gripping the arm rest of the couch. “This would all go a lot faster if you just say it.”

“I don’t think saying ‘Uncle’ is magical, Dean,” Cas croaks, voice rough and chest heaving.

Chuckling, Dean runs a hand through Cas’ unruly and dark thick hair, pointer finger trailing across his face lightly. “I think it’s the most magical thing in the whole universe.”

Cas rolls his eyes so Dean tickles him again, this time getting his sides which causes him to fight harder.

“Dean, please- please, I can’t-”

“You’ll have to beg for it, honey,” Dean says, one hand continuing his cruel yet amusing ministrations and one rubbing over Cas’ scrunched up eyelids softly.

Cas’ eyes snap open, deep and blue and a bit surprised at how sultry Dean’s voice has become. He licks his lips and breathes in slowly. “How?”

“Well, what do you want, baby?” Dean asks, leaning down to kiss Cas’ cheek faintly.

“You,” Cas bubbles out quietly, smile soft and warm.

Dean lightens his weight on Cas’ torso and allows for Cas to move his hands to Dean’s hips. “Is that what you want, Cas? Me?”

“I do believe I have made that very clear,” Cas says, thumbs slipping under the hem of Dean’ shirt to press against warm and smooth skin.

Dean laughs and sits up again, Cas following and kissing him in the dip of his collar bone, right where Dean had been tickling him before. “You know,” Cas murmurs against the side of Dean’s neck, “Sam won’t be home until late tonight…”

“Is that right?”

An affectionate nip at his ear makes Dean’s insides turn warmly, makes him inhale sharply and grip Cas’ shoulders firmly. “Mm hmm,” Cas says into his ear, his tongue trailing wetly across its shell.

“Does that mean you wanna take this into the-”

Suddenly, there’s knocking on the door and they both freeze, Cas’ hand still under Dean’s shirt and his breath warm on his ear. They sort of sit there like idiots, listening to the light knocking and then the silence. “What do we do?” Dean says, looking down at Cas.

Cas rolls his eyes. “ _We answer the door, Dean_.”

“Oh, right.”

Dean reluctantly slips off of Cas’ lap, trying to straighten his clothes and slow his heart beat and rising temperature. Cas walks over to the door and disappears behind the wall. Dean hears the door open and then-

“Holy Umbridge, Cas, you look great! Where’s that stupid boyfriend of yours?”

Dean automatically grins so big it hurts and he hurries over to where Cas is standing, an embarrassed smile on his face. Dean laughs, staring at the redhead decked out in nerd gear and holding two suitcases covered in iron-on logos and references. “There’s my girl,” he says, holding out his arms.

Charlie Bradbury smiles, drops her bags and practically jumps into his arms to hug him tightly. “Hey man!” Charlie says, arms around his waist. “I’ve missed you a bunch.”

“I’ve missed you too, Char,” Dean says, meaning every word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Charlie so she didn't die okay? :) Next Chapter up soon!


	7. When you give a fallen angel your wallet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments and kudos! They made me feel so delightful that I decided to update early!  
> This chapter is extra long so it may take extra time for me to update again.  
> Enjoy, bumblebees!

Dean didn’t think this trip could get any better.

So when Charlie showed up, Dean’s whole world came together and he was suddenly even happier than before. The people he loves are gathered in the comfy living room, talking and laughing while Dean fixes up a pot of coffee and places few remnants of some crackers he found in the pantry on a chipped plate. It’s almost midnight, but Dean doesn’t plan on going to sleep anytime soon, even though he might pass out on the counter and spill coffee everywhere.

Charlie is questioning Cas like a quiz show host, listening to his intelligent answers intently and either laughing at them or staring in amazement before asking again. They’re seated on the floor next to the coffee table and Sam is listening with an amused little smile on the leather recliner, computer on his lap and a bunch of tabs open about something Dean can’t exactly make out. Dean pours the hot liquid into white ceramic mugs and slowly makes his way towards his little broken family, making sure not to spill any on the white carpet.

“Let me get this straight- You really rebelled against your entire family for Dean?” Charlie asks, in total awe, and Dean stops in his tracks, a little taken aback by that realization.

Cas nods, looking at the patterned rug beneath him. “Heaven was corrupt and it still is to this day,” Cas explains, picking at a loose thread. “Our Father left and many of the angels were left in disrepair, agitated and confused by the freedom they were slowly being given. I was disheartened by God’s disappearance, but I was not going to let my brothers and sisters destroy the earth from believing false prophecies. I fell in love with humanity and I wanted free will and the other angels didn’t understand my decision.”

Charlie listens, nodding sympathetically as Cas speaks and Dean loves that about her. She actually cares about other people’s problems, knowing how hard it is to lose family and feel like an outsider in a world full of chaos and sons of bitches who ruin it for the rest of us.

Dean quietly hands them their mugs and Cas thanks him, his thumb sweeping lightly over the inside of Dean’s wrist and sending a pleasant rush through him at the simplicity of it. Charlie smiles slyly, giving Dean a look, and he blushes, settling in on the couch and sipping at the scalding liquid hope. “So are you still an angel?” Charlie asks gently. “Or did your powers sort of get cut off?”

Cas sighs and taps his finger on the handle of his mug. “Rowena’s spell was very powerful. It diminished my grace and now it is slowly fading away.”

Sam looks up from his laptop in surprise. “Cas, you’re not…”

“I’m almost fully human,” Cas admits, blue eyes sincere, but sad.

Sam’s eyebrows scrunch up in apathy, but Cas smiles weakly.

The anger he feels right now is nothing in comparison to the rage Dean felt after finding out what Rowena did that to his angel, but he still wants to find her and bash her head in with a hammer despite the cozy vacation they get.

And even though Dean’s forgiven his little brother for going behind his back with that evil book, Charlie almost got killed by the Stynes and he doesn’t know how he could have gotten past it. Maybe with the help of Cas and Sam and something like this.

Maybe he would have had to push it into the back of his mind and acted like one of his best friends wasn’t dead.

Dean doesn’t even like to think about that.

At least they’re okay now.

Charlie looks bright and happy and now she gets to spend the rest of their vacation with them so everything is freaking grand.

Hopefully.

Cas stands up and walks around the table to sit next to Dean, his thigh up and close and cozy next to him, a diluter of Dean’s cold thoughts and chilly skin. Dean throws an arm over the back of the couch and presses closer, trying to gain warmth and comfort from him. “So what have you been up to lately, Charlie?” Sam asks.

“Well, without having a big bad to fight, I’ve been pretty bored with myself,” Charlie says with a smirk. “It is so hard to meet chicks these days!”

Their conversation goes on and Dean slowly feels himself tiring despite the coffee and suddenly, he’s being shaken awake. “Dean, wake up,” Cas voice is saying softly.

He feels like a dead-weight as he opens his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to adjust to the dark. Charlie and Sam must have gone off to bed and Dean must have fallen asleep, his head on Cas’ lap. “Cas?”

“Let’s go to bed, babe,” Cas whispers, helping Dean sit up with a strong hand.

They trudge to Cas’ room, Charlie officially getting Dean’s room. Earlier Dean had protested, saying that he wanted to keep the view and the big bed, but Cas was a stubborn asshole and wanted to keep his flower printed comforter. So Dean collapses on the bed without pulling off his clothes while Cas shuts the door and turns off the lights, moving about the bathroom and room for a few minutes.

Then, just as Dean starts to drift off, he feels his boots being tugged off and a hand is pushing him onto his back, his belt buckle clanging as it’s undone. Cas pulls off his clothes and if Dean wasn’t so exhausted, he’d probably hold off sleeping for another hour or so. Then Dean is just in his boxer briefs and they both crawl under the sheets, Dean searching for that familiar warmth again and nuzzling his head against Cas’s arm.

And he falls asleep again, warmer than before.

____________________________

Dean starts to get excited once he sees that the theme of Old Town is western-y and Mexican-y, because maybe Sam will let him buy a sombrero and wear it for the rest of the day and that would be awesome. A lot of people are milling around the shops and streets, pretty much all of them old people hunched over in tiny crowds with straw hats and loafers, moving like sloths. The only unfortunate thing is that since they’re all so slow, Baby creeps forward at only five mph, trailing after a hobbled old woman with a walker who is _walking in the middle of the goddamn street instead of having the natural curtesy to move over._

“Seriously, Sam, what the hell.”

“Dean-”

“There’s a sidewalk _right there_.”

“Dean, just go the other--“

“I’m not going the other way, Sammy, we’re almost there.”

“Then stop complaining!”

“No.”

“Dean,” Cas says sternly, leaning forward. “The woman is almost across the street. She is clearly having some problems that might require our assistance.”

“Cas, she isn’t even moving!”

“Yes she is.”

“Babe, I swear-“

Sam gives Dean that weird look again, like he’s all surprised by their cute little nicknames and stuff.

What a dork.

Finally, the old lady turns right and gets off the damn street and Dean speeds past, resisting the urge to flip her off. Charlie is cracking up in the backseat next to Cas and Dean growls, swerving into the parking lot and cursing, because there are no empty spaces near the front and this is just _grand_.

“Dean, just calm down,” Sam says.

“What about _you_ calm down, Samantha!”

Charlie snorts as Dean pulls into a parking space far, far away from where all of his dreams will come true. Dean goes to open his door, but Sam grips his arm. “What is it now, Sam,” Dean mumbles.

“You better not be an asshole all day,” Sam says, raising his eyebrows.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Dean, we all know that you haven’t exactly had the best morning,” Charlie says, grimacing.

Dean supposes that’s true. He woke up to an empty bed and cold sheets, he burned himself on that damn coffee pot, his favorite jeans have a mysterious hole in the crotch and he almost got knocked out by a wayward Frisbee in the lobby. It wasn’t like a monster or anything trying to kill him with flimsy plastic, but still.

“Yeah, well, I’ll put on my game face,” Dean says, smiling crookedly and getting out of the Impala before Cas begins to lecture him about the importance of helping old ladies across the street and being a good Samaritan.

Charlie talks animatedly about something with Cas as they walk, pointing to her tee which reads _The Guild_ in large letters and laughing. It’s sort of weird, because one of the people on her shirt looks exactly like her…

Hmm. Weird. Must be a coincidence.

They explore the town, the sweltering heat forcing Dean to take off his top layer and tie it around his waist and air out his t-shirt by billowing it constantly, his sweat glands failing at their job. Cas is in those damn shorts again, the ones that show off his legs, and Dean’s glad that he didn’t decide to wear his jeans. Sam is dressed in shorts too and he keeps on checking his phone, waiting for Sarah to call him back even though she’s at work and specifically told him that she would get back to him this evening.

They begin to wander into shops and it’s interesting, because every store is like a whole new world. One whole store is dedicated to hot sauce and another only sells writing utensils and the one that sells knick-knacks really captures Cas’ attention. While Sam talks to the owner about something nerdy, Charlie joining in happily, Dean trails after Cas through the narrow aisles, eyeing the creepy trinkets and laughing at peculiar curios. Cas picks up item after item, usually things relating to animals or flowers and it’s totally adorable, in every sense of the word.

But then Cas’ eyes eventually settle on the shoddy, clay cat near the back of the store hidden on the top shelf, only slightly bigger than his palm and it’s an _ugly_ little thing and Dean almost grabs it and chucks it across the room, never wanting to see it again. One of its eyes is missing and the other one is bright yellow which is weird. Its fur is matted, like someone rubbed it with soap and forgot to wash it afterwards, leaving it to seep in and dry and crumble.

“Dean, I have to have it,” Cas says, blue eyes widening as he stares at it like it’s his firstborn.

“Babe, that is the ugliest thing I’ve seen all day.”

Cas huffs, tucking it close to his chest, cradling it like a goddamn baby. “I want it, so I’m getting it,” he says sternly and Dean knows that he’s ready to argue to the death.

“Cas, no.”

“Dean, it’s adorable. How can you resist it?”

“Because I have special powers that prevent me from spending money on my boyfriend’s obsession with ugly animals.”

Cas’ mouth drops open and he narrows his eyes. “ _I want it_.”

“Babe-”

“Give me your wallet, Dean.”

Cas holds out one hand, raising that damn dom-eyebrow and Dean finally gives in, slapping the wallet into his open hand with a dramatic sigh. “Thank you,” Cas sing-songs, smiling before bounding off towards the cash register.

_Why the hell did he do that?_

Dean shakes his head, telling himself not to give in when Cas inevitably asks for the real life, breathing beast that could possibly plot their deaths while staring at them from their dresser during the night. But if correctly approached and with a little convincing, Dean may give in so he vows to never let Cas see another animal.

He walks towards the front, watching Cas grab the little bag the cashier is handing him with a wide grin and a word of thanks. “Thank you,” Cas says vivaciously, handing the wallet back to Dean.

Dean swears it feels lighter than before and he eyes Cas warily, weighing it mentally. “You guys wanna find somewhere to eat?” Sam asks, pocketing his change and waving goodbye to the owner as they walk out.

“God, yes, I’m starving,” Dean says, pulling on his sunglasses as the sun hits them head on, brighter here than the dreary and wet towns Dean’s used to. But it’s a nice change of pace.

Cas is squinting hard and he almost falls off the sidewalk from momentarily blindness, but Dean quickly circles an arm around his waist and pulls him away from the edge. “Whoa partner. We’ll go get you some shades after lunch, okay?”

Cas nods, but doesn’t move from Dean’s side. It’s so weird, though, knowing that Dean can actually touch Cas. Even weirder now that Sam and Charlie are here and they’re in public and Dean doesn’t have any regrets about running the tip of his finger over Cas’ hipbone and feeling him shiver despite the temperature. “Oo, that place looks nice!” Charlie says, pointing towards restaurant with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Sam says, nodding and walking ahead and pushing his sunglasses back into his silky hair as they pass under the shade.

Dean’s pretty sure that all of the old ladies they pass look Sam up and down, their backs straightening and their arthritis suddenly disappearing as they ‘oo’ and ‘aw’, patting their hair and shoulder pads. He laughs a little at the sight, grateful that he doesn’t have an ugly brother that he should be embarrassed of.

It’s still freaky though.

Charlie chose well. The restaurant is a Mexican grill, exactly what Dean was hoping for and inside is nice and cool. They’re seated quickly, only a few other customers in the place, and luckily the waitress does not seem to be a threat. Their table is near the front and Dean has a good view of the bar and the street and his boyfriend’s pretty face.

Cas really is extremely good looking in Dean’s very accurate opinion. Dean examines closely while Cas studies the menu, his tongue poking out to wet his lips, his jaw line stubbled with 5 o’clock shadow, hair a sexy mess. Dean does realize that Cas possessed Jimmy Novak all those years ago and that he wasn’t the original “owner” or whatever, but it doesn’t really matter now since Jimmy is in gone and Cas is very much Cas. It’s Cas and he’s human now so he isn’t a vessel. So Dean doesn’t feel bad about being wickedly attracted to him.

He wanted to touch that skin and kiss those lips even when Jimmy was still inside with Cas. It isn’t all because of Cas’ physical appearance though. It goes so much deeper than that. It’s how Cas gave up everything for Dean and how he came to fall for the world and Dean, despite both of their brokenness. And how Cas is the one who raised him from Hell and the one who left that handprint on his left shoulder and began the profound bond that now means so much more than a simple attraction. It’s more than how Cas looks, but it does help that he is one sexy bastard and that he can get Dean hot when he wants to.

Cas looks up and Dean is still sort of staring, musing about blue eyes and gentle hands. Cas leans forward and smiles shyly. “What is it?” He asks softly.

Dean blinks and rubs his eyes. “Sorry, just got caught up thinking.”

Cas nods and goes back to reading the menu, glancing up every once in a while to blush and smile when Dean raises his eyebrows jokingly. “God, guys, get a room,” Charlie jokes, punching Dean in the arm.

“Joke’s on you,” Dean retorts, smirking. “We have a room, don’t we sweetheart?” He winks at Cas who hides his face with his menu.

“Aw, you embarrassed him,” Sam says, taking a sip of his water to hide his smile.

“Nah, he loves me,” Dean taps Cas’ foot with his own.

“That’s true,” Cas says from behind the menu, eyes peeking over the top to gaze warmly at him with something deeper than a simple joke.

Dean feels his cheeks flushing so he ducks his head, hearing Charlie say, “Aww,” and Sam’s chuckling.

Cas taps him back on the toes lightly and doesn’t move his foot for the rest of lunch.

____________________________________________

Cas looks good in shades.

Like…

Freaking spectacular.

Dean practically squeaks the whole time they’re in the tacky souvenir shop, every single pair of sunglasses magnifying Cas’ sexiness to the whole store, making heads turn and shirts untuck and mouths water.

Well, actually, Dean is the only one who can see him in the back of this place, but he gets a close up so it doesn’t really matter, because he sure as hell is doing all of that. Cas really likes these goofy sunflower ones and even though he looks cute, Dean convinces him to choose these plain black ones that really compliment his features and, uh, stuff.

Outside, Cas pulls them on and looks at Dean with a light smirk and it’s like he’s melting, his own shades doing nothing to protect him from the blaring, hot sun next to him. He has always wondered by people referred to others as the sun, because he can barely look without squinting and he’s most likely going blind. “Good?” Cas asks, tilting his head.

“Good. So good, so very, very good,” Dean babbles, having to look away and act like he’s searching for something like maybe a swimming pool where he could cool off or maybe a hole.

Cas chuckles and grips Dean’s shoulder. “They’re right over there, Dean,” Cas says, pointing.

“Right. I knew that.”

The next shop was one of Dean’s favorites. It was a much cozier place that sold clothes and homemade things that you could actually put in your house and wear out in public. Dean sits in the comfiest chair he’s ever sat in outside of the dressing room, flipping through a _Southern Living_ magazine and getting into that domestic-daydreaming state again.

One of the articles Dean reads talks about couples moving into a house together for the first time. It’s chock full of tips and decorating ideas and how to make a peach cobbler for when guests come over. Dean flips through it, trying to remember every single detail just in case.

Then Charlie hops up in front of him, a giant grin on her face. “Okay, Dean Winchester. Prepare to be dazzled!”

Dean chuckles and closes the magazine, dog-earing a corner so he can come back to it later. “For tonight’s show, we have Castiel modeling multiple choice outfits, picked out by moi.” Charlie says in an announcer’s voice, throwing an arm out towards the curtain.

“So, here we have outfit number one!”

They wait, but Cas doesn’t come out.

Charlie pokes her head inside the room, their voices muffled as they talk until she comes back out, grinning harder than before. “Sorry, technical issues,” she says.

Cas pushes the curtain back and Dean’s mouth goes a bit dry.

The first outfit includes leather and tight jeans and boots and a v-neck and Dean’s heart attacking him again. “That’s- that’s nice, honey,” he squeaks, shifting in the chair.

Cas and Charlie smile at each other, like they know something Dean doesn’t. “So, um, apparently I am supposed to ask you yay or nay,” Cas says with an adorable chuckle.

Dean laughs and leans forward. “I have to say yay, Cas. Yay, yay, yay, yay.”

Cas blushes and Charlie winks, patting him on the arm before sending him back in. So he changes and come out of the dressing room every few minutes, Dean deciding whether Cas should buy the outfit or not. Most of them are a definite yay, including that one gray tee with the blue pants that is so simple, it’s hot.

Some are good, but too vibrant, like the pink button down that looked really yay, but a little too superficial for Dean. Cas didn’t like it either, but Charlie got a kick out of it anyway, making kissy noises for no reason.

In the end, Cas ended up with a bunch of new clothes and Dean is really hoping that he gets a private fashion show when they get home or else he might die, just like his wallet.

______________________________

They find another Mexican restaurant (of course) and Dean lets loose, ordering more than a few beers, and soon he is hanging on Cas without caring about anything around them, not even the Mariachi band that is singing at the top of their lungs, song sounding like a death march. “Will you get me another beer, sweetheart?” Dean asks Cas, placing a hand on his upper thigh.

“I think you’ve had enough,” Cas says, taking away the empty bottle in Dean’s hand and replacing it with a water.

“Aw, don’t be a party pooper,” Dean complains, leaning back against the booth, grinning for no reason.

“We shouldn’t have let him have more than two,” Sam says, laughing.

Charlie leans forward, running a finger over the salt on the rim of her martini. “We should question him,” she suggests, smirking. “Maybe we can get some answers!”

“What questions?” Cas wonders, tilting his head and grabbing the glass of water from Dean’s hand before it spills.

“Hmm…” Charlie ponders over this. “Oh! Let’s ask him about _you_!”

Sam chuckles, finishing off his first beer before sighing. “I don’t think he’s drunk enough to fall for that, Charlie.”

“Let’s try!” Charlie exclaims, turning to Dean who is slumped a little further down in the booth, head lolling on Cas’ shoulder. “So, Deanie Weanie, how did it happen?”

“How did what happen?” He slurs, blinking slowly.

“How did you and Cas finally get together?”

“You know, you could have just asked me this,” Cas grumbles. He smiles against Dean’s temple, shifting so that Dean can comfortably rest his head on his shoulder.

“Yes, but we all know you’re totally and completely in love with him, so now we need to pick Dean’s brain a little, just for some details that we would otherwise never understand.”

“We were on a case,” Dean blurts abruptly, smiling up at Cas endearingly. “I got all jealous or whatever about this one douche bag who ended up being a vampire.”

Charlie is soaking all of this in, not letting any words go unheard in the chaos of the restaurant.

“It made me so mad,” Dean continues, sitting up a bit more as his words become clearer. “Cas is _my_ angel and freaking Robbie Vines was raining on my big, gay parade.” Charlie snorts and winks at Cas, who is rolling his eyes affectionately. “So I sort of confessed to him that I wanted him more than anything in the world. So yeah. That’s how it happened.”

Dean laughs strangely and squeezes Cas’ thigh again. Cas pats his hand and Charlie grins, knocking her skinny shoulder against Sam’s boulder of a bicep. “They’re cute,” Charlie says. “I’m so glad they’re together.”

Sam agrees, giving them with that weird look again before his smile turns to a full blown grin.

Dean’s pretty sure he’s more than a little tipsy, because he swears he is seeing a unicorn standing next to Sam and it’s literally rainbow colored. “Hey, I need to use the restroom,” Sam says, slipping out of the booth. He strides right through the unicorn and it sort of pokes him in the back with its horn thing, but Sam doesn’t notice.

“How are you doing, Dean?” Cas asks.

He’s skimming his fingers over Dean’s hand and wrist lightly and it feels nice, like the warm liquid sloshing like the sea inside of his belly. “I’m perfecto,” Dean says, sniffing Cas’ sleeve and smiling at the familiar scent. “Ya know, you smell like hope and waterfalls.”

Cas chuckles, lifting Dean’s hand and kissing it tenderly, looking down at him with ocean eyes. “We should get you back to the condominium,” he says gently.

“Sounds like a plan,” Dean agrees.

_______________________________________

Charlie decides to wait for Sam so Cas goes ahead and takes Dean outside, letting him lean heavily against his side. The moon looks beautiful in the sky tonight and Dean really wants to tell Cas something cheesy, like his eyes look as bright as the stars above or some shit like that.

But the unicorn is trailing close behind them so he feels a bit too uncomfortable to do so.

“Sorry you gotta do this, Cas,” Dean slurs, resting a heavy hand on Cas’ shoulder.

“It’s fine, Dean,” Cas says and circles Dean’s waist with a strong arm. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Cas, I-”

“Hey fags!” A voice calls from behind them and Dean’s skin starts to crawl, that horrible feeling coming full frontal, telling him that something bad is about to happen.

Cas also stiffens and Dean wonders if they should just keep walking, but Cas lets go of him. He turns and Dean staggers to the left, leaning against the wall before straightening and whirling around. Two men are walking towards them, one of them short and the other tall and skinny, sort of like an emaciated victim of a holocaust and his hotdog eating contest winner friend. It’s sort of hard to see due to his intoxication, but Dean’s sure they’re smirking and his heart speeds up.

“What’s up, freaks?” The tall one drawls, stopping a few feet away and staring at them with something dark and mean in his eyes.

“Excuse me?” Cas says, crossing his arms and it’s sort of terrifying really, because even without his angelic power, Cas can be incredibly scary with that freaking poker face and eyebrow.

“I said that you’re a freak,” the guy spats, stepping forward, towering over Cas. “And I don’t think you should be running around these streets spreading your gross disease, _fags_.”

Dean’s rage rises, spilling over the rim of his make believe patience cup and his hands clench into fists. “I think you should mind your own fucking business, buddy,” he hisses, narrowing his eyes and swaying a bit.

The short one scoffs and suddenly, he is pushing Dean back with a flat hand against his chest, causing him to stumble backwards. “And I think you should stop being a disgusting queer pig, because nobody wants to see that, old man.”

Suddenly, the tall guy is pushing Cas up against the brick and Dean doesn’t think twice, immediately starting to throw punches. The skinny dude goes down easily with a jab to the face and Dean turns to Cas. He’s about to ask him if he’s okay, but he forgot about the short guy. Then he’s suddenly down on the concrete, his eyebrow throbbing painfully and he gasps, drunk and hurt and angry as hell. His skin feels cracked and Dean grits his teeth, his backside in pain too.

“What the h-”

He looks up and gasps again, unable to hold it back, and watches as Cas swings at the other man, hitting him square in the jaw. The man yells and Cas punches him again, knocking him to the ground, his shoulders stiff and stance prepared for battle. Cas bends down and grips the front of the man’s jacket, pulling him forward. Blood dribbles profusely from the guy’s nose and he tries to get away, but Cas is much stronger, maybe some of that angel mojo still inside of him stirring up and coming out in fury. “Don’t you _ever_ touch him again,” Cas threatens, voice dark and deep, nothing funny about it. “Or I won’t hesitate to smite you into nonexistence.”

And even though it’s really hot, Dean stays on the ground, feeling the blood trickle down his face, staring as Cas pushes the man into the street and then the skinny guy who is finally regaining consciousness. They stumble away, yelling about crazy gay guys who are trying to kill them.

Cas then turns to Dean and his tense composure and narrowed eyes drop to both relief and worry. He hurries over and cradles Dean’s head, his eyes a dark blue in the dimly lit street. “Dean, honey, are you okay?” Cas asks, swiping his thumb over Dean’s lips, blinking quickly like all of the fight has gone out of him and the only thing that matters is Dean.

“I’m alright,” Dean says, sitting up slowly and grimacing as pain and nausea sweeps through him, blood sticky on his face. He cries out a bit, gripping his head and Cas inhales sharply, biting his lip.

“Can you walk?” Cas asks gently.

“Yeah- I- yeah.”

Cas grips his arm and helps him up slowly, careful to not touch any of the sore spots on his body. Dean’s head has cleared a bit more and everything hurts. His emotions, his body, his happy mood from earlier. He hadn’t missed this feeling of being thrown to the ground and right now, he can’t imagine ever wanting to go hunt again and volunteer for more split lips and concussions.

“Dean! Cas!”

Dean turns a little too quickly, shaking, and Cas puts a hand on his chest. Sam is running towards them, Charlie on his tail, and they look extremely worried. “Holy shit,” Sam says, running up to him.

He grips Dean’s shoulder, bending down and breathing hard. “What the hell happened? Cas?”

Cas shivers and he loosens his grip, pulling away. Dean falls into Sam’s arms, still so drunk and in pain. “I- I- these men came out of nowhere and called us… Called us _fags_ and I couldn’t protect Dean from getting hurt…” Cas places a hand to his forehead, biting down on his lip. He leans up against the wall and he’s shivering even more and Dean wants to reach out to him, but he just can’t.

He can’t.

And he doesn’t know why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I added angst... I'm sorry! But we all know that the Winchesters' lives aren't exactly perfect.  
> No worries, though, this story has only light angst because DESTIEL IS REAL AND THEY CAN MAKE IT.  
> And there's no proof that I made myself cry so shush.  
> <3 love you guys... Update soon!


	8. Group hugs and tear-stained angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hurt, comfort and a whole lotta laughs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Bumblebees!  
> This chapter is totally later than I expected it to be!  
> The humor kind of dips in and out in this chapter, but I'll try my best to bring it back up since too much angst leads to sad and depressing stories that could have been happier.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Update: when I posted this chapter, I realized that I totally forgot to edit it like a good little writer... So now, it is all cleaned up, nice and neat :D

Cas slips away to their room as soon as they all get back to the condo, breaking away from the group and shutting the door quietly. Dean wants to go in after him, but Sam is dragging him to the living room, forcing him to sit while he runs around looking for a first-aid kit. Charlie hovers between Cas and Dean, rubbing her wrists uncomfortably. “Charlie,” Dean finally says, swallowing the bile that threatens to escape his stomach. “Don’t worry about me. Go check on him, okay? For me?”

Charlie nods and with a small, but sympathetic smile, she walks over to their room and knocks on the door before going in. Dean sighs heavily, putting his head in his hands. The alcohol is finally beginning to wear off and his sobriety only makes the pain swell.

Fucking homophobes.

Dean sort of wants to cry and break down and lie in bed for eternity. It’s not that he’s exactly embarrassed… He just feels wrong inside. Like he’s not good enough, like Cas will suddenly grow to be disgusted of him, realizing that he’d be better off without a broken man who can’t seem to keep it together. Dean knows that not all of that is true, but right now he is soaking in his sorrow, his head pounding and the crusty blood on his face feeling like a mask. His eye fucking hurts- the origin of his wounds seemingly effecting his vision and emotions- and he hates those guys for popping out of nowhere to get into something that isn’t their damn business.

Groaning, Dean hunches his shoulders and tries to hide in the dark cavern of his own limbs, but it isn’t as effective as he had hoped.

“Dean?”

Sam touches his shoulder lightly, sitting on the coffee table in front of him. Dean looks up, licking his lips before glancing down again. “Sam, I- I don’t-”

“Stop,” Sam says, leaning forward. “Just let me get you stitched up.”

“What do you mean?”

“That guy got you good.” Sam dips a washcloth in the bowl of water he brought, reaching up tentatively to dab the blood from Dean’s face. “Those bony fingers cut surprisingly deep.”

Dean grimaces every once in a while, hissing as Sam begins to stitch him up, the needle stinging and the alcohol a poor substitute for comfort. He feels like he might throw up and he almost does. But Sam gives him breaks, resting a hand on his shoulder and not saying anything at all.

After all of their years together, spent hunting and gaining new wounds and scars, they know that this isn’t the best time for bearing out hearts and spilling emotions. And Dean is thankful for it, but he breaks their unspoken rule, just this once. “I don’t get it. It’s just our love, Sammy,” he says and then he laughs stupidly, for no apparent reason, a shiver running down his spine.

Dean coughs heavily and he can’t look his brother in the eye.

“I know, Dean. I know,” Sam simply replies in a soft tone.

After finishing with the last stitch, Sam helps Dean stand up just as Charlie comes back into the living room. “He still want me?” Dean asks, swaying slightly and trying not to look too weak.

“Of course,” Charlie says, giving him a tender-hearted smile. “We’ll all talk in the morning, okay? Let’s just all rest on it for now.”

Dean nods and Sam pats him on the back as he steps away. Dean slips into their dim-lit room silently, leaning against the closed door for a second before moving towards the bathroom, without looking at the bed. Dean stares at his reflection for a moment before closing his eyes, hating what he sees before him. The skin around his eye is bruised a blotchy dark and the cut from the other man’s sharp knuckles spreads just below his eyebrow, severing a tiny bit of the hair lined there.

Bloody and broken, Raggedy wings and sheering skin; Seems like that’s what it always comes to for them.

He takes care of his business and splashes icy water on his face before walking out of the bathroom. Then he dares to look at the bed. Cas is curled up in a ball under the covers, hiding his face in his pillow. Dean knows he’s awake, but if he wants to pretend to be asleep, Dean won’t mess with that. Crawling into the bed, Dean stays on his side, lying on his back, staring at the swallowed shadows in the corners of the room.

Then Cas breaks the silence. “I’m so sorry.”

Dean turns his head, staring at Cas’ back. Cas’ voice is soft and full of self-loathing and Dean hates that sound. “Why are you sorry?”

“I could have protected you if I was still an angel,” Cas says quietly. “I failed you _again_ and those men…”

“Look at me, Cas.”

Cas slowly rolls over and Dean sees the fresh tears dotting his cheeks, streaming silently from his eyes, making them shine like crystals. “That was not your fucking fault Cas,” Dean says, sitting up despite the pain coursing through his head and lower back. “Those guys are homophobic douche bags who tried to hurt us both. I just happened to be the one who was drunk off his ass, trying to punch thin air.”

Cas squeezes his eyes shut, curling in closer on himself, and Dean doesn’t understand why he acting this way. Like he’s weak and like he’s vulnerable and not one of the bravest people Dean has ever met. 

“What’s wrong, Cas?” He asks gently, going for a slower approach, scooting closer and skimming his knuckles over Cas’ arm. “What the hell happened back there after those guys ran off?”

Cas takes a shaky breath. “When I saw that man hurt you, it was like my whole world was being torn apart and I tried to use my power, but it wasn’t there. It wasn’t anywhere. And I couldn’t help you.”

“Cas…”

“I’m so broken,” Cas whispers, voice breaking as he rolls back over to face away from him. Dean closes his eyes, because those words are too painful to hear and Dean remembers himself telling Cas that a few years ago…

**Nobody cares that you’re broken, Cas.**

He grimaces from the memory, rubbing his eyes fitfully and groaning at his own stupidity. Of course Dean cares- he always has.

And even though Cas ran off with Crowley and lied to them and let in a whole new monster that needed to be taken care of, Dean worried like a fucking mother hen. He scoured the internet and radio for any news on his best friend, tried to forget about it through alcohol and petty one-night stands. Waited for the announcement of Cas’ demise or of yet another terrorist act while trying to hold back fresh tears.

And even after all of that, Dean feels like people are still waiting for him to make a decision- Sam or Cas?

Everyone has always made him choose between his brother and Cas when in reality, they are both in the same category. He loves them both and it’s not a competition, because they both have him wrapped around a string, unable to be cut away from the little team they’ve created. Team Free Will. Dean curses at the old him who was scared of what he felt, too afraid to admit his feelings.

But Dean is different now and made new by the realization that life would be better if he just sort of…

Let it.

He knows it doesn’t mean that it will always be perfect and that the monsters will magically disappear, but right now and in this moment, he has something going that hasn’t faded yet and Dean doesn’t plan on letting that go easily.

So he moves closer to Cas and wraps himself around his body, letting both of their warmth seep into each other’s skin and bones as he curls his front around Cas’. Eventually, Cas’ rigid limbs begin to relax and he runs his fingertips over Dean’s wrist, sniffing quietly. “Shut up,” Dean says softly against the nape of Cas’ neck. “You’re not broken, Cas, only a little bent. And I am too, by the way. I’m clearly not perfect.”

They lay in silence for a while with Dean’s palm pressed against Cas’ beating heart, lips brushing against the hair curling behind the his ear. Cas eventually turns around and looks at Dean with teary eyes, worrying his lip and then reaching up to touch Dean’s cheek. “I’m still angry with myself for letting that man hurt you,” Cas admits, fingertips faltering and dropping down to Dean’s lips.

“I’ve taken worse,” Dean jokes, gripping Cas’ wrist delicately and kissing the dip between his veins.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“I know… But it makes you wanna love me right?”

Cas rolls his eyes affectionately. “Yes, but we are not having sexual intercourse tonight.”

“Aw… God, Cas, why do you have to say it like that?”

“That is the correct term, Dean.”

“Whatever. Can we just… Make out or something?”

“I guess…”

“ _Cas_.”

With a sigh, Cas pulls Dean down and kisses him firmly. They stay that way for a while, their tongues rolling lazily together and their mouths making those gross, yet adorable kissy noises that usually gross Dean out. But right now, with Cas, it’s surprisingly easy and comforting. It isn’t heated, even when Dean moves more on top of Cas and grinds down, ready for some action.

Cas punches him in the stomach.

“Hey!”

“I said no.”

“Why are you holding out on me!?”

Cas blushes.

“Aw, you don’t have a reason, do ya?” Dean jokes, pressing tender kisses to Cas’ neck.

“Actually, it is because I would like to bottom.”

Dean pulls away quickly, eyes bugging in his head. “Wait, what? _You_? The most bossy angel in Heaven wants to _bottom_?

“I just want to try it out, Dean…” Cas’ eyebrows furrow. “But I don’t want to do it here, because…”

Dean laughs a bit, scrubbing a hand over his mouth and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “You don’t know what sounds will come out of it, huh?”

Cas smiles in embarrassment, running his fingers all over Dean’s face. He really seems to love doing that all the time, but Dean doesn’t mind. It actually feels pretty nice. No one had ever been like this with him before. All the women of his past were sweet, but their hands didn’t make his blood rise and their eyes didn’t give him the impression that he was _theirs_. But with Cas’ smoldering gaze and, _by God_ , those damn blue eyes, Dean clearly knows that he’s taken and anyone who happens to get in the way... Dean doesn’t even want to know what Cas would do during that situation.

_“You’re mine, Dean. And no one else’s.”_ That’s what Cas had said only less than a week ago and it still made Dean heat up every time he happened to think about it, remembering the look in Cas’ eyes and the passionate tone in his voice.

Cas sort of has that same look going on right now, so Dean closes his eyes before his body betrays him.

“Fine. We’ll, uh, try it out when we get home,” Dean agrees, nuzzling his cheek into Cas’ hand.

“Okay. Deal.”

Cas smiles and then gently pushes Dean off of him. “Well, if we aren’t going to do that tonight, we should do something. Anything,” Dean utters with a groan, rolling onto his back. “I’m starting to get a hangover and it’s not even eight a.m.”

Cas yawns and rubs his tear stained cheeks. “Okay, but nothing too strenuous.”

“Fine.” Dean smiles and skims his knuckles over Cas’ bicep. “Let’s just cuddle and watch a movie or something.”

Cas nods. “Aren’t you going to change, Dean?”

“Nah.”

“You’re changing, Dean.”

“Right. Yessir.”

________________________________________

Cas falls asleep in Dean’s arms, clad in a snug t-shirt and his boxer briefs, the TV humming quietly in front of them. Dean’s head hurts like hell and he wants to go grab some Ibuprofen, but Cas looks so adorable curled up against Dean’s side and he doesn’t want to wake him up.

Dean is just about ready to nod off when there is a knock on their door. He turns his head to see Sam poking his head through, the light from the rest of the condo flooding in to illuminate their room. “Oh, hi,” Sam says, smiling at them and Dean rolls his eyes at that weird smile.

“You need something?”

“I was just bringing you some water and medicine for when you woke up, but…” Sam shrugs and walks over.

“Thank God. My head is killing me,” Dean says, carefully sitting up and letting Cas snuggle into the crook between his hip and thigh. “Either your psychic or you’ve been spying on us.”

With a look of disgust Sam says, “I’ve lived with you for over thirty years, Dean. I know when your hangovers start to kick in.” Sam grins and hands Dean the water and medicine. “How’s he?”

Sam nods his head over to Cas and Dean pops in the pill and takes a swig of water before answering. “A bit shaky, but we’re good.”

“Good…” Sam sits hesitantly on the bed. “So I was just wondering when we’re leaving. Not that I want to, but you know…”

Dean sighs and runs his hand through Cas’ hair absentmindedly. “I don’t know man. We’ve been here for, what, four days? I already feel like staying here forever.”

Sam nods in agreement. “Really makes you think about what life could be without hunting, huh?”

“Hell yeah. I never want to hunt again,” Dean says without thinking.

Sam smiles like Dean was joking. “Not really, right?”

Dean gazes down at Cas. At his adorable, scrunched up sleeping face and his desirable lips and the tan skin fanned over with stubble. “I’m serious, Sam,” Dean confesses, looking back up into his brother’s eyes. “I… I know it sounds stupid, but I really feel like if we quit this time… I feel like we’ll make it.”

Sam raises his eyebrows and leans forward. “You’re serious?”

“Call me the Joker,” Dean says lightly, but Sam isn’t smiling anymore.

“You know that’s crazy, Dean,” he says, laughing humorlessly. “We’ve both tried that before and it didn’t end well for either of us.”

Dean sighs and closes his eyes. “I know, Sam. But this is different. This isn’t me putting some innocent person in the line of fire. This is Cas. He knows how to defend himself and the type of life we live and it’s not like we’re just going to forget about hunting all together… I just think that maybe we could try it out.”

“How do you suggest we do that, Dean?” Sam asks, frowning.

Dean knows he isn’t exactly seeing it in the same light and he wishes Sam would just give it a chance. “I mean… Let’s get out of the Bunker more often! Let’s cut down on the hunts and enjoy life, man! I mean, you really like this Sarah girl don’t you?”

Sam cracks a smile. “I guess… I haven’t felt this way since Amelia.”

“See?” Dean sits up a bit more and Cas curls up closer in his sleep. “I feel like we might actually have a chance.”

Sam stands up, running a hand through his hair and thinking hard. “Let’s… Let’s just sleep on it, okay Dean?”

Dean opens his mouth to say something, but Sam hurries out of the room, the only sound being the soft thump of the door closing behind him.

Huh…

“Dean?” Cas mumbles, opening his eyes. “You should go to sleep, babe.”

Dean smiles softly. “Sorry, yeah. You’re right.”

He lays back and promptly falls asleep, his thoughts slightly troubled.

_________________________________

“Are you sure I should be here..?” Charlie asks, hunching her shoulders and looking around awkwardly.

“Yes you should be here!” Dean says loudly, tone intense, and Charlie jumps, almost spilling into Cas’ lap. “You’re a part of this family and… Sam needs some red-headed lesbian persuasion.”

“Shut up, Dean,” Sam mumbles, crossing his arms on the other side of Charlie. “I just don’t see how this time around won’t go badly like before.”

Dean sighs, rubbing his temples and giving Cas a “help me” look. But Cas simply shrugs and gives him a weak smile.

Traitor. Beautiful, blue-eyed traitor.

“Look,” Dean starts, looking his three companions in the eye, trying to keep a straight face on despite Charlie’s constipated look at being squished between two grown men on a tiny loveseat, “Cas and I are together, obviously. So for the better, all of our lives have changed. A lot. Agree?” They all nod and Cas smiles sweetly and it’s the smallest encouragement that spreads across the ocean for Dean and he continues without fault. “Honestly, guys, I don’t want to hunt anymore.” Charlie gapes and Cas raises his eyebrows. “We’ve been through so much crap this past year and now we’re all good and healthy and pretty okay. And I think we should cut back on hunting so goddamn much, because I don’t plan on ruining it.”

“You… you don’t want to hunt anymore?” Charlie asks, mouth dropping open in surprise.

“Dean, you know what happened the last time you tried to stop,” Cas says carefully.

“We weren’t all okay then, Cas,” Dean argues, pitch rising. “You were somewhere off in Heaven, Sam was off with Samuel without his fucking soul and we hadn’t even _met_ Charlie yet!”

“Yeah and your lives sucked before you met me, so…” Charlie shrugs and smiles awkwardly.

“See?” Dean grins and huffs out a desperate laugh, looking into Cas’ eyes. “We weren’t _us_ then, babe. And look how much we’ve all grown and stuff!”

“I don’t want this to end badly,” Sam finally pipes up, standing up and looking at Dean with serious eyes. “After Amelia, I promised myself I wouldn’t ever try to live a normal life again. I don’t want to put myself through it again, Dean. I don’t think I can.”

Charlie looks up at Sam with her eyebrows scrunched together before looking at Dean sadly. Cas has his forearms placed on his knees and he is giving Dean that sympathetic look of his, crumpled eyebrows and all, and it is really not the time for this! Dean rubs his forehead with a deep sigh. His whole little speech is going down the drain way quicker than he expected. Maybe his plans for the future are a little far-fetched and maybe Sam is scared to pursue them, but that doesn’t mean they should just give up. So far their luck has been surprisingly good and bad, an equal amount of both at times, and they haven’t died (recently) so why not try?

“We’ll go slow Sammy,” Dean says gently, walking forward to grip Sam’s shoulders. “Shouldn’t we at least try? It could be awesome.”

Sam gives him a bitch face before huffing in defeat. “Fine. But let’s just… Yeah, go slow.”

Dean grins and pulls Sam in for a nice, brotherly hug, because they do this all of the time so of course it’s completely normal!

“Dean, you’re scaring me,” Sam says quietly after a few moments of being in Dean’s bone-crushing embrace.

“What makes you say that?” Dean asks.

“You won’t let me go, man.”

Oh.

Dean slowly pries himself away with an awkward grin and when his eyes stray over to Cas, who looks amused, he blushes. “So we all agree?” He asks.

Cas runs a hand through his hair before standing up slowly. “If you are ready to settle down, Dean, then I am also ready.”

“Awesome,” Dean says ecstatically, pulling Cas into his arms.

“I agree, too,” Charlie says, popping out of her seat and placing her hands on her hips. “I thought I was recruited to hunter-for-life, but honestly…” She grimaces. “It’s not as fun as simply roleplaying in a forest with a bunch of geeks.”

“I am so glad to hear you say that.” Dean grins and holds out his arms, Cas still pressed up against his chest. “I think this calls for a group hug,” he says with a deep voice.

Sam groans and Charlie snorts, forcing him to join their little circle. It only lasts for a few seconds with Sam and Charlie pressed up against Dean’s sides, but when Dean hums a little too sexually, they quickly spring away. “Okay!” Sam says hastily, laughing and making his face scrunch up adorably. “We’re never doing that again!”

Cas pulls back and gives Dean an amused little smile before pecking him on the mouth and pulling away.

“So is our little vaca over?” Charlie asks, pulling her red hair up into a ponytail.

Sam sighs. “I don’t want to leave, but I honestly don’t know how much more money we’re able to spend.”

“Damn… We really have spoiled ourselves, haven’t we Sammy?” Dean says, crossing his arms.

Sam answers with a sad smile and Dean realizes that they are all pretty bummed about having to leave. This vacation has been so different from anything he has ever felt before. It was like a breath of fresh air, complete with Sam, who he adores; Cas, who turned out to love him back; Charlie, who is practically his best friend, and a whole bunch of relaxing that he could get used to.

But Dean knows that they all need to go home now, but just because they are leaving doesn’t mean they have to stay away forever. They can always come back.

Dean _will_ come back, and that thought alone is what makes him smile and turn towards his room and prepare to leave.

But first- Dean has one more errand he has to take care of…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find out what Dean's errand is in the next installment of _Mr. Wrong_!!!


	9. Presumptuous Gaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Bumblebees!  
> Hopefully this is a funny and adorable little chapter to brighten up the mood.  
> I know a lot of these chapters have focused around California and sunshine and butterflies and I'm not going to suddenly kill off a character, but I'm going to smooth it back down into more of a Winchester type of way. :p  
> Was that confusing? Probably.  
> Do I care? Of course! (not)  
> ;D  
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S.- This part of the series, _Mr. Wrong_ , will probably be ending soon, but another part will be up right after I end it! ;) The last chapter will probably be extra long in this case.

Dean pulls his purchase out of the bright pink plastic bag in his lap, grinning like a mad man. He holds it up in front of him, admiring the stich work, the soft fabric, the sentimental value of the item and how fucking _good_ Cas is going to look in it. After throwing a few of his things in his bag earlier, Dean was finally able to slip out of the condo and hurry back to the store where Cas gave him a fashion show- _Rags_ , was the name- his sights set on something… Well, Dean didn’t exactly know what he was there for at first.

By luck, Dean had found an employee who was set on helping him pick out the perfect gift for Cas. After searching through multiple racks and piles of clothes and random items that were cool, but not exactly what he was looking for, something finally popped out from the array of colors and Dean automatically knew he had found it.

The perfect gift for Cas.

And then when he showed it to the nice employee named Susan and explained how he wanted to buy the love of his life something really great, she practically melted on the spot and insisted that he just take it without paying. They argued back and forth, but Susan must have been taking lessons from Sam on the bitch face, because Dean eventually staggered out with the gift in one hand and a complimentary sticker in the other, unsure of what had exactly happened inside of the cozy little store.

But all was well in Dean’s humble opinion and he even scared a passerby while walking down the street because he was grinning like a fucking lunatic. The lady was pretty weirded out and she crossed the street in discomfort after raising her eyebrows, but Dean didn’t give one crap. For the first time since Dean and Cas got together, Dean is by himself. And he realizes that he’s happy.

The happiest he has probably ever been.

Cas is _his_. Dean has a hot, badass boyfriend who loves him more than anything. That has to say something. He’s doing something right for once!

Dean Winchester: 2

World: 1,000,305

Okay, so maybe Dean still isn’t winning, but he won this round so _ha_.

He presses the gift to his chest, the gummy smile spreading across his face giving him this stupid sense of purpose. The contentment he feels spreads farther than any paved road he’s traveled and the love he has finally decided to venture into won’t be willing to let him go easily. It’s sort of scary, knowing that this is the way Cas makes him feel.

Dean should tell him that sometime. Maybe when he gives him the gift…

“I’m totally screwed, aren’t I?” Dean says out loud, speaking to the world beyond, referring to how this will most likely end with some sort of wretched phenomenon that will occur at the worst moment and destroy it all.

The world doesn’t answer of course.

But Dean is certain that his caution will not settle until possibly his next death and that could be soon. He can never tell.

For now, he’ll just sit here patiently, waiting for the next strike, enjoying his time with his little broken family and loving Cas with all he has.

That’s the best he can do.

__________________________________

The thing Dean didn’t plan on worrying about is the correct time to present Cas with the gift. It shouldn’t even be that big of a deal, but it is. Because… Something could go horribly wrong if he rushes into it.

What if he gave Cas the gift during a really bad time and caused Cas to break up with him? Or what if he waits to long and the feelings between them diminish or one of them dies and he is never able to give it to him?

Another problem is that maybe Cas won’t even _like_ the gift.

So, maybe Dean wrapped it in tissue paper and stuck it in a cheap-o paper bag from the Sunflower Market. And maybe it’s the same bag where Dean placed the strawberries and blueberries from his trip into the market after Cas called him pleading for fruit and actual “good food” for their trip back to Kansas. And- okay- maybe Dean wrote a gooey little poem thing on a sticky note and taped it to the side of the bag, and took it off, and put it back on after much contemplation and cursing.

He hopes with his whole soul that Cas enjoys it.

The gift is prepared, but the time to give it is unknown and Dean hopes that some sort of lightbulb will appear overhead when the right time comes.

Cas is folding up their clothes all nice and neat while Dean lays back on their perfectly made bed, propping his head up with pillows so he can watch Cas’ deft hands pack the clothes into the bags. It’s satisfyingly domestic and Dean can’t help smiling warmly at the raven-haired man walking around the room, taking care to press the clothes delicately into Dean’s duffle bag, running a hand through his hair as he searches the room for any stray pieces of clothing lying around.

Then his eyes meet Dean’s and he blushes, dropping his hand, and it’s so endearing that Dean chuckles. “What?” Cas asks, clasping his hands together in front of him and smiling awkwardly.

“Nothing,” Dean says, crossing his arms behind his head. “You’re pretty adorable though.”

“Oh, shush.” Cas smiles, rolls his eyes and zips up the bags. “You could be of use, you know.”

“Aw, babe, I’m all comfy here watching you though! You got this, I believe in you.”

“You’re lucky I’m finished,” Cas says, glaring sarcastically. “By the way, Sam told me that he will be taking Sarah out for the day so we will have to wait until this evening to leave.”

“Man, I was planning on not driving all night,” Dean groans, rubbing his hands over his face. “And why is he dragging it out like this? He knows we’re leaving and it’s not like Sarah is just going to follow us back to Kansas.”

Cas shrugs, placing all of their bags near the door and then looking back at Dean with clear blue eyes. “He likes this woman a lot.”

“Yeah, but still…”

“Would you like to get out of here, Dean?”

“God, yes.”

Dean grabs his wallet and phone before stopping short of the door. “Wait, where’s Charlie?”

“She is meeting up with some friends,” Cas says, tucking his phone away in the pocket of his shorts. “She said she would return before we left tonight.”

“I can’t believe her! She’s totally going LARPing without me!” Dean scowls and Cas grabs his arm.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t go without you, love,” Cas says gently, pulling him out of their condo and locking the door behind them. “She said something about meeting up with her ex.”

“Oh.”

Weird. Dean feels like Charlie would have said something to him, but maybe not. Maybe that’s too girly to tell your guy best friend. Either way, Dean will most definitely be questioning the red head later.

__________________________________________________________

 

“I don’t understand the concept of this game, Dean.”

“It’s supposed to be fun, babe. Just watch and learn.”

Cas grips the edge of the Pac-Man machine, squinting at the screen. Dean had decided to take Cas to the boardwalk and show him all the fun “human” things that California had to offer. He remembers going to a place like this once, before Mary had died and before his life was constantly being threatened by a monster. It’s a vague memory, but he does recall the fun he had and all the quarters he spent on cheap arcade games.

And now Cas gets to experience it too.

But he is having some problems understanding just how _fun_ it’s supposed to be.

Dean almost gets cornered by the little pink bastard ghost thing in the game, but he twists the little knob like a maniac and he’s back on track. Cas is watching closely, head tilted, trying to figure out the true meaning of it all even after Dean reminds him over and over again that it’s _just a game, Cas_. “What are you trying to do?” Cas asks.

“Here- wait- let me explain- after this.” Dean giggles in a creepy way as he rounds the last little corner and he almost has all of those sneaky little dots when-

“Dammit! Fucking pink ghost- SON OF A BITCH!”

That freaking pink bastard got him _right_ before he got to eat the last dot.

“This game causes you a lot of stress, it seems,” Cas observes, bumping Dean’s arm with his own and giving him a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, um, it really does.” Dean scowls at the screen.

“Then why is it considered entertainment?”

“Well.” Dean pauses and stares at the screen telling him **Game Over** in blinking letters. “Here, come stand in front of me.”

Doing as he is told, Cas moves between Dean and the arcade machine, unconsciously tilting his head. “Okay, now place your hands here,” Dean instructs, grabbing Cas’ hand and moving it over the joystick. “And here.” Cas grips the edge of the machine as Dean tells him to. “You’ll have to maneuver this guy,”- Dean points at the Pac-Man, pressing his hips into Cas’ lower back- “With this thing.”

Dean wiggles the controller under Cas’ hand. He can’t help settling his chin on Cas’ shoulder, breathing in his musky, sweet scent as he shows him the controls. “You got it?”

“Yes. So what do I have to do?” Cas asks, turning his head slightly.

“Well, the point of the game is to “eat” these babies.” Dean indicates to the little dots scattered around the maze. “But these little bastards will be chasing you the whole time so you gotta avoid ‘em and get all of the dots.” The ghosts wiggle up and down on the screen, mocking him with animated eyes and Dean growls, causing Cas to startle.

“Sorry,” he grumbles, squeezing Cas’ left hand and letting go of the one gripping the joystick. “Ready to play?”

“Yes, definitely,” Cas says, smiling.

Dean fishes a few quarters out of his pocket, inserting them into the tiny slots. The game bursts to life and Cas suddenly has his game face on, looking strangely determined.

Dean’s so proud it hurts.

Then he moves to the side and watches as Cas stares the screen down, the game beginning and his stance ready for battle, hand poised over the tiny red knob.

The game begins.

“Dean wait, why- NO!”

It’s the little pink bastard again, claiming the round with an unbelievably sharp turn, trapping the Pac-Man in a corner before attacking viciously. Cas’ mouth hangs open as he stares in disbelief.

**Game Over**

“Hey, that’s okay,” Dean says, stifling a laugh easily after seeing the crestfallen look upon Cas’ face. “It was your first time, babe. Try again?”

A low hum rumbles from the back of Cas’ throat and he nods, throwing out his palm. Dean slaps two more quarters into his hand and before he can even think about the consequences, Cas is back to hunching over the machine, eyes wide as he watches the screen. He even has his tongue poking out of his mouth a bit and Dean can’t help laughing.

**Game Over**

“You are fucking _kidding me_ ,” Cas groans, slamming his hands down on the edge of the machine.

“Cas, honey, what about-“

“I need two more quarters Dean. _Now_.”

Dean obliges, telling himself that this will be the last round because clearly Cas is getting much too worked up over this and they could be here all night.

Except, Cas keeps losing and eventually he starts giving Dean the puppy eyes and making obscene gestures with the joystick that helps do his bidding. And Dean gives in every time.

It’s probably a mistake.

“Ha! Wait- _Oh my bees_ , no! Stop chasing me!” Cas’ voice is higher than normal and the muscles in his forearm strain as he wiggles the knob about wildly.

“Uh, Cas, honey-”

“Not _now_ , Dean.”

“I think this might have been a bad idea-”

“ _You’re_ a bad idea.”

“Okay, first of all, I am the _best_ idea,” Dean retorts, wagging his finger. “Second of all, has Sam been teaching you those jokes or am I supposed to believe that you came up with that yourself?”

Cas doesn’t answer and then-

**Game Over**

“Nooo…” Cas moans and knocks his forehead against the glass screen. “I was so close…”

“Cas, what about we-”

“Gimme two more.”

“I literally do not have any more, Cas.”

“Wh-what?” Cas pulls away and gives Dean a strange look.

“You used them all up, babe. Not my fault you’re a sore loser.”

Cas narrows his eyes and then attacks Dean’s pockets, practically _sticking his hands down Dean’s pants in the middle of a family arcade_. “Shit, Cas!”

“Oh.” Cas comes up empty and he smiles sheepishly. “I thought you were lying.” His hands are still in Dean’s pockets.

Dean huffs. “Get your hands outta my pants, weirdo.”

“I thought you liked my hands in your pants,” Cas answers, an eyebrow cocking suspiciously.

“We are in _public_ , you moronic bee.”

“No one seems to be around.”

“Nope. I ain’t foolin around with you in a freaking arcade, Cas.”

“I just want a few measly quarters! Nothing related to our sexual interactions,” Cas argues.

He still hasn’t removed his hands from Dean’s pockets. His fingers are inching closer and closer to Dean’s inner thigh and- “Nope, nope!” Dean wrenches Cas’ hands away. “I can’t do it, man.”

Cas smiles devilishly and he pecks Dean on the cheek before scooting away to the front of the Pac-Man machine again. “Are you sure you don’t have any more?” Cas whines, blue eyes locked on the animated characters behind the glass.

“I’m sure, Cas.” Dean slings an arm around Cas’ shoulders, sighing into his hair. “Besides, I have other things planned.”

“Oh, fine.” Cas smiles. “But I expect a Pac-Man machine for Christmas.”

Dean snorts. “Yeah. Because we celebrate holidays like true Pilgrims.”

“Dean, Christmas sanctifies the birth of Jesus Chri-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, darlin’.”

A little golden haired boy with a sucker stares at them as they pass, eyes wide and colored like liquid topaz, a weird grin on his round face. Dean shoots him a wink and as they step out into the clean, salty air, he can’t shake off the feeling of familiarity.

Then Cas pulls him out of his train of thought by tugging on his sleeve and pointing at a cotton candy stand on the other side of the boardwalk and he doesn’t think about it for a while.

They eat a bunch of junk food and play stupid kiddie games for a few hours, but Cas enjoys the hell out of it the whole time. He smiles a lot, and so does Dean and everything is just as it should be. Dean loves the way Cas’ eyes light up when Dean hands him a tiny stuffed cat from one of the booths and he craves the warmth that passes between them when Cas throws his arms around Dean’s neck.

He doesn’t even think twice when Cas begs him for just one more shot at one game that involves shooting water pistols at tiny cowboys that pop up at random intervals.

But Dean regrets it when Cas decides to spray him on the neck with his gun.

It instantly turns into a water fight- Cas spraying Dean and Dean grabbing some random kid’s water gun to shoot back

Then they sort of get banned for life, but Cas is giggling like a madman, squeezing his cat (officially named Bubbles in Cas’ mind; Little D-bag in Dean’s opinion) against his chest with one arm and holding Dean’s hand tightly in his own.

Over all it was one of the best days Dean has ever had the chance to experience. 

They watch the ocean ripple and splash against the side of the boardwalk from a stiff bench in the afternoon sun, Cas’ head cushioned on Dean’s shoulder and his fingers drawing what Dean believes to be Enochian letters on the smooth skin of his forearm. Right where the Mark of Cain had once resided, not too long ago. But it doesn’t send Dean into a panic the way it used to.

Cas calms the raging storms blowing across his ocean, and maybe that sounds too poetic, but Cas soothes him in a way that makes Dean feel like sinking down on a used couch with a bowl of macaroni in his lap, his gun replaced with Cas by his side instead. They would watch the news- or jeopardy, whatever Cas prefers- and eat in silence. Or perhaps they would talk about their days, their jobs. How they’re handling the big things, like broken arms, and laughing at the little things, like the spoiled milk in the fridge at work that totally obliterated the perfectly fine bowl of Wheaties they had planned on eating for lunch.

Dean’s thoughts trail back to that magazine he flipped through in _Rags_. The pictures on page 19 displaying a healthy family in a clean home, laughing with neighbors around a fire pit in the backyard and scolding the young children running around the yard because they’re howling like monkeys and _that’s impolite, Gerald, control your fucking children_.

Shit. _Kids._

Even with all of this soft thinking, Dean doesn’t let himself go as far as _that_. It’s still a boundary that is too sensitive to press past and what if Cas doesn’t even want k-

Nope. Dean won’t go that far.

At least not today.

“Wanna get back?” Dean asks.

“That would probably be the best idea,” Cas answers, sitting up slowly. He squeezes Dean’s arm gently, brushing a kiss to his cheekbone, right below the dark bruise around Dean’s eye, before standing up. “Has Sam texted you?”

Digging out his phone, Dean rubs his chin and presses the home button. “Oh, crap.”

“What?”

“Sam texted like an hour ago saying that his date got cut short,” Dean says, swiping his thumb across the screen.

“Oh no…” Cas’ eyebrows knit together and he holds Bubbles close.

Is a grown man supposed to be that adorable?

“We should probably hurry,” Dean mumbles, standing quickly and pressing the call button on his phone.

Cas nods and as they begin walking back towards the parking lot, they pass the same golden-eyed boy from the arcade again. He has yet another sucker in between his lips and he looks a little too young to be leaning against one of the benches with an arm slung around the back and his legs crossed at the ankle. It’s really weird when Dean thinks about it, cause he’s certain that the kid is smirking around his lollipop.

Something, a thought, a memory, is at the tip of Dean’s tongue and he’s just about to get it when-

“Dean?” Sam’s voice rings through his ears, but he’s too preoccupied to think much of it.

The boy watches them closely with his golden eyes as they walk by and Dean really wants to know why he looks so damn _familiar_ …

“Hey, Dean? You there?”

Dean snaps back into reality.

“Hey, uh, sorry I didn’t see your texts until just now…”

“It’s fine. But you know how much Charlie worries.”

“You mean _you_ , right?” Dean asks, grinning.

“Ha. You wish,” Sam says. “Just come back so we can get out of here.”

“We’re on our way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next installment will be coming soon...  
> And who do you think the golden boy is???? :*


	10. Goodbye, San Diego!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a hard goodbye, but it's time for the Winchesters and Castiel to say adios to California and head back home.  
> That is, if it weren't for the undeniable complications they'll face on the way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Bumblebees!  
> I will start out by saying that this is the last chapter of _Mr. Wrong_!  
>  BUT, before you start screaming, this is not the last part of the series!  
> Keep this in mind as you read... Or you'll regret it when you starting panicking and forget what I just told you...  
> Love you all, and enjoy!

With the conclusion of their wonderful vacation in sunny San Diego, California comes the downfall of Sam and Sarah’s relationship. A ship underwater. A toy forgotten at the bottom of the tub. Sam once again with nothing but a pretty girl in the rearview mirror and a less than promising future ahead.

 

Well hopefully not a doomed future. But Sam still isn't seeing the bright side, Dean can see that much. 

Whatever it was, whether an impending love or a simple fling, the fun times are over and Sam looks forlorn, sitting on the couch and staring at the television with glassy eyes and a sad frown. It’s sort of depressing, and Dean stands right next to him for about ten minutes, breathing heavily, without any reaction from the guy.

“Uh, you know that the TV isn’t turned on, right?” Dean finally asks, trying to be as kind as possible.

“Yeah. I know.” Sam sighs and pushes his hair out of his face before gazing up at Dean sadly. “She, uh…” Sam takes a shaky breath. “Sarah said that it would be better if we just cut it off now. So neither of us gets hurt.”

“Oh.” Dean rubs at his eye before tentatively sitting down next to his brother, the guilt already beginning to rise in his chest. “That sucks. She was a good lookin’ woman.”

Sam laughs humorlessly and Dean grimaces, but doesn’t say anything. He hopes he didn’t go to far with that offhand comment…

They sit in silence for a while, the sun beginning to sink out of the sky and vanish under the horizon outside of the window, deceivingly close enough to touch and breathe in like the oxygen he’ll never want to live without. Dean knows that it could possibly be the final time he sees this, that he could die tomorrow and never witness something this beautiful that is a part of nature and this broken world. A gorgeous sunset over the ocean and the light that comes from it, flooding into the room like its own mini sea of radiance. One of the single most enticing sights this world has to offer.

Dean catches Cas out of the corner of his eye and he turns his head to peer at him. Cas looks hauntingly beautiful in this light as he leans up against the doorframe of their empty room, clad in one of the outfits from _Rags_. It’s a combination of dark jeans and a simple sky blue t-shirt that looks really nice on him. He looks handsome and something swells in Dean’s heart, something tight that makes him smile and proud to call him the love of his life. Their eyes meet, and Dean tries to smile while also conveying that Sam just got his big moose heart broken and that maybe they shouldn’t talk about their next endeavor in the bedroom.

Amazingly enough, Cas seems to understand. He grabs Baby’s keys from the counter and gives Dean a look as he jangles the keys, squeezing his eyes shut and grinning brilliantly like a little kid.

Magnificent bastard.

Cas grabs their bags and heads out of the condo, looking all hot and stuff with his muscled arms and tight jeans…

Wait, Sam needs him right now! Dean shakes his head and tries not to think about getting Cas on his memory foam and making it never forget him…

“You okay, man?” Dean asks instead.

“Not really. But I’ll get over it.” Sam smiles over at Dean feebly before rising steadily. “We better help Cas with the bags.”

Dean groans as Sam scurries away with his bags in hand, head ducked down.

So much for moral support. Sam’s almost as bad as Dean himself with these situations. Dean finally stands up, popping his back with his arms above his head, and when he stops and looks around, he realizes that he’s going to miss it here. Knows he’ll miss the room and the flower print duvet and the beautiful view outside and the good memories made here, in this clean little condo.

He leaves after grabbing the fruit he bought earlier and staring at the darkened room with an aching heart. After this, how could he ever be the same? In the course of a couple of weeks, his whole world had swirled and contorted into something new and intriguing and wonderful. He was completely changed and Dean doesn’t feel like the same man before coming here.

And Dean’s scared that when they return, everything will somehow go back to normal and Cas will leave and Sam will get bored.

That Dean will go back to being alone.

Dean pushes those thoughts away, popping a blueberry into his mouth. Now is not the time to worry. He has an angel and a broken hearted brother to attend to. He shuts the door to the condo and locks the door and then he leaves, a smile on his face.

And that’s the end of that.

___________________________________________

The open road is a bit smoother than when it was last traveled by Baby, and it’s nice to feel warm air whipping through the windows and smelling the salty air begin to fade behind them. Charlie had called right after Dean had peeled out of the parking lot, saying that a friend would be dropping her off at the bunker tomorrow. They were all pretty bummed about not having her along to brighten up the trip home, but it’s nice enough having Cas next to him.

Sam had decided to rest in the backseat, so at least Dean gets to hold Cas’ hand for a while. When Sam’s soft snores begin to fill the car, Cas finally dares to ask. “What happened?” He whispers, scrunching up his eyebrows and leaning closer.

“Sarah broke up with him,” Dean explains softly, giving Cas a small, solicitous smile.

“Oh,” Cas says, frowning in sympathy.

“Yeah. He’s pretty bummed, so I wouldn’t mention it for a few days.”

“Of course,” Cas says. His hand comes to rest on Dean’s thigh, a comforting weight. “Sam just needs some time.”

Dean sort of gets sentimental as they leave San Diego. The lights are beckoning him back towards the large city and the heavy traffic and the never ending round-a-bouts. It’ll be a good memory when they look back on it, but right now he sort of feels like it was for nothing. Like it was just supposed to make him feel worse about what life he is living. Dean will certainly miss it and he doesn’t have any doubt that Sam will too, no matter what he says.

Cas leans his head against the window and soon his hand goes slack on Dean’s thigh as he lulls into sleep by the low rumble of Baby’s engine and the soft tunes playing on the radio. The streetlamps and traffic eventually begins to fade into the night as Dean pulls off onto back roads, the palm trees vanishing and leaving familiar looking desolate areas to swallow them up. At least out here there is still luscious green grass and cute houses on quiet streets. Everyone is peaceful and asleep and Cas looks like a cat all curled up in the corner of the front seat. A cute cat. Not one of the devils that scratch and hiss.

Duh.

God, he must exhausted or something.

Dean hums to himself to keep himself from falling asleep at the wheel and glances into the mirror. Sam looks pretty adorable too. His big legs can barely fit in the backseat and his head is smushed up against the door. It looks damn uncomfortable, but the guy is totally passed out and Dean doesn’t want to wake him up and get an earful about _I need my beauty sleep, Dean_ and _You guys better not be doing anything up there_.

It’s a few hours later and past midnight when Cas suddenly jerks awake, blinking rapidly and touching his jaw.

Dean smiles sleepily. “Hey, babe, you-”

“Dean, you have to stop the car,” Cas interrupts, turning his head and staring at Dean with crazy bright blue eyes, full of worry.

Dean snaps into attention, his hunter instincts kicking in and his weariness pushed away, replaced with a defensive stature. “What are you talking about, Cas?” He asks.

“You have to pull over, Dean!” Cas says loudly, eyes widening as he looks out of the windshield.

“Wh-”

Dean looks ahead and suddenly, something is looming in front of them, illuminated in the headlights.

He slams the brakes and Cas grips his forearm tightly, a bit too tight. Sam is yelling in the back, fully awake, as the wheels squeal and finally, Baby comes to a halt with a jolt and a thud. Before Dean can say anything, Cas is flinging the door open with a creak and hurrying over to the car lying upside down in the middle of the road.

“What the hell, Dean!?” Sam yells, scrambling to sit up.

“I- I don’t know.” Dean steps out of the car into the warm night and runs towards the wreck.

A gold car is flipped over on its roof and glass is sprinkled all over the road, looking like something out of a horror film. A fire is blazing near the hood, bright and abnormal as smoke emits from it, billowing up into the darkness. Cas is on his knees about twenty feet from the car, leaning over someone. “Cas…” Dean moves around him and tries not to gasp.

It’s the little boy from the arcade. He’s on his back, a cut deep and nasty across his forehead. Blood pours from the wound, as well from the various cuts marking the boy’s arms and legs. Dean moves backward, examining the rest of the car for any sign of the kid’s parents. He pulls a tiny flashlight from his pocket and shines it inside the broken window as he crouches down. There are two people, a man and a woman, hanging upside down in their seatbelts. Blood drips a haunting melody from imperceptible wounds, and they don’t seem to be breathing.

“Dean, I need your help,” Cas says, voice sounding shaky and he looks up at Dean with his eyebrows knit together.

Dean runs back over and falls to his knees on the asphalt on the other side of the boy. His chest is moving up and down slowly, much too slow to be normal and Cas’ hands are urgent on his face, trying to wake him up. Make him open his eyes or say something, _anything_. “Should… Do we call 911?” Sam asks from behind them.

“I don’t know.” Dean licks his lips in haste. “You mind checking on the parents? Cas and I will try to help this little guy.”

“No, Dean, you don’t understand,” Cas says, shaking his head. “This isn’t-”

The boy abruptly shudders awake, his golden eyes like a spotlight in the dark as he glances around nervously, more in worry than in pain. “Hey, it’s okay,” Dean says gently, touching his arm. “We’re gonna get you to the hospital, but you gotta tell us what happened.”

Cas scowls and Dean’s eyes snap up to his. “What the hell, Cas?”

“This isn’t some little boy, Dean,” Cas growls, glaring down at the kid with annoyance.

The boy looks over at Dean and then Cas and then he sits up slowly with a groan. He rubs at his face and the thick blood on his cheek smears. Dean’s about to force him to lay back down, but then he chuckles, looking down at the blood now coating his palm. _Chuckles_. Like… Like what? Dean knows that sound…

“Damn. I was not expecting that,” the boy says.

Dean gapes and his eyes pass between Cas’ and the boy in front of him. “Wh-what?”

“What? Don’t recognize your favorite archangel buddy?” The boy says, raising an eyebrow.

Then it finally dawns on Dean and he _finally_ catches the thought that has been scurrying around his brain for the past few days like a fucking menace.

Suddenly, the boy raises a small hand and snaps. The gash on the boy’s face disappears, as does the rest of the cuts and blood. He grins wickedly and Dean growls, wrenching backwards and anger surging inside of him.

“GABRIEL!?”

“The one and only,” Gabriel says brightly, grinning like a douche bag. It’s probably bad to call a little kid a d-bag, but _damn_ , the archangel can even make a little boy’s pretty face look smug and sadistic.

Cas sighs and stands up, rubbing at his temples in annoyance. “Dammit, Gabriel. Why are you possessing this little boy? What happened to your other vessel?”

“I’m not possessing anyone!” Gabriel says, throwing his skinny arms out. His voice squeaks awkwardly and Dean suppresses a haughty laugh. “This is my vessel, I swear on Dad.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Castiel demands, his fury blossoming and Dean recognizes his smitey face and he tries not to get turned on. That would just be the worst timing in the whole world. “Where have you been, Gabriel?”

“I had a run in with an ex,” Gabriel says, standing up on his sneaker clad feet, brushing off his cargo shorts and straightening his red polo shirt. It’s really, _really_ strange hearing that from a little kid’s mouth. “That’s not the point though. Cas, brother, I need your help.”

Gabriel puts his hand on Cas’ forearm and fire blazes in Cas’ dark blue eyes, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fist. Dean intervenes before Cas decides to choke him out. “Just freaking tell us what you want. And how the hell are you alive anyway?” Dean spats in annoyance. “And what the hell is this?” He throws his arm out towards the wreck.

“I’ll explain all of that later,” Gabriel says impatiently, scratching the back of his head. “But for now, I suggest we get the hell out of here before...”

“What even the hell are you talking about?” Dean growls.

He gets an answer, but not from who he expects. “Dean,” Sam says from behind them, voice strained.

They all look over. Sam has a warning look on his face and before Dean can do anything, he steps out from behind the car. “Oh, shit,” Gabriel hisses.

A knife is pressed up against Sam’s throat, blood already beginning to trickle down into his collar, illuminated in the light coming from the fire. The woman from the car is wielding it, a dangerous smile on her bloody face and her eyes pure black.

“Oh dear me,” the demon says, pushing Sam forward with a knee digging into the small of his back. He stumbles roughly and throws his head back to avoid being sliced by the blade. “Looks like I’ve found the whole gang!”

Dean reaches for his gun, but then he realizes he doesn’t have it on him. He doesn’t have any weapons on him. _Shit_ , Dean thinks. “Gabriel,” Cas says quietly. He looks more annoyed then scared, but he keeps his eye close on Sam and the demon as he edges closer to Dean and clutches the back of his shirt.

“I think it is about time we had that conversation, don’t you think, dear Gabriel?” The demon grins. Blood is stained on her teeth and Dean has remorse for the woman stuck inside.

“Uh…” Gabriel laughs nervously and blinks his golden eyes slowly, batting his eyelashes, as if faking innocence would get him out of the situation. “Damn, I’m sorry Ags, I just don’t have time today!” He claps his hands together once and puts on a smile. “But if you’d like to schedule an appointment, I’m sure my secretary could pen you in-”

“Shut up!” The demon spats, wrenching Sam’s arm behind his back. He cries out in pain, falling to his knees and Gabriel breathes in sharply. “I’m not going to let you get away this time, boy. I’ve let too many chances pass me by.”

“Okay, okay, I understand. Just let him go,” Gabriel says, voice suddenly desperate and full of worry. “I’ll have the damn talk with you if you just-”

They never hear the end of the sentence.

The demon slashes the knife across Sam’s neck with a wicked grin, eyes black and evil.

Dean barely hears himself scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reached the end of _Mr. Wrong_!  
>  But please do not fret and, gods, PLEASE don't rip my rainbow banners and stampede through the Congress of D.W. in anger and confusion!  
> The next installment of the _Mr. Series_ will be coming soon.  
>  <3 Love y'all, and thank you for all of your kudos and comments. Keep in mind that they help me write and really encourage me to update! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter coming soon... ;)


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